


Eyes Half Closed

by zzariyo



Series: Memories Are Nothing But Painful [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Champions are alive!!, Childhood Memories, Dreams and Nightmares, Engagement, F/F, Freeform, Implied sexy time, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, PTSD episodes, Resurrection, Revali is trans, Slow Build, Unrequited Crush, and it's terrible!!!, doesnt affect the plot at all just wanted to let u know lmao, i'll just...add tags as we go along i guess lol, im doing a lot of research 4 it u better thank me, just kidding. it talks about revali being trans a couple times throughout the story, link TALKS in this one!?!??!, oh yeah i curse a fair amount, revali has ptsd, teba's got piss eyes, this shit gets GOREYYYY sometimes.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 135,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zzariyo/pseuds/zzariyo
Summary: It's been a year since Link and Zelda defeated Calamity Ganon. After Zelda relieved him of his duties, Link left to be with Sidon, the one he fell in love with during his travels, and the one person that doesn't make him feel empty. Engaged, they live happily together and wait excitedly for their wedding day.But everything changes when the Champions are resurrected by mysterious means.Revali is awake now, excited for another chance to be with Link, but is torn apart when he hears about the engagement. Although, as time goes on, Link regains his memories from being around Revali and the others and starts to go back to who he was before the Calamity.Sidon hates seeing Link change into someone he doesn't know, but he hates Revali more.Revali just wants Link for himself, and after one hundred and one years of waiting, he's still pining even though it hurts.When he regains his memories, Link loves them both, but has to decide which Link is the real one: the one he had to be before the Calamity, or the one he created when he awakened with a fresh start.Updates every 2 1/2 - 4 weeksThis is a sequel to Too Cruel, but a synopsis is linked in Author's Notes if you want to skip it!





	1. Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a [synopsis of Too Cruel,](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/175737792668/too-cruel-synopsis) just in case ppl want to skip that shitshow. There will be references to it though, but not anything that makes the story hard to understand after reading the synopsis I think
> 
>  
> 
> heyoooo here i am AGAIN! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿  
> I first got the idea of this a couple months back after reading some of MT_Yami's beautiful fanfic [Blackbird!!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13904709/chapters/31999542) After reading it, I was thinking a LOT about it and some thoughts came to mind and eventually, it became this whole big ol' thing and welp. HERE I AM  
> The story went through a lot of changes while I was writing Too Cruel and thinking about this, and I'm really excited to share and spread my suffering. Although, this fic is gonna be written a bit differently than Too Cruel was. I have a basic, general idea of how this story is gonna go, but it's gonna be pretty freeform. Also- I have no idea how this is gonna end!! Guess I'll just find out haha!!!  
> It'll also be written less like an ANTHOLOGY and more like an actual story....and ghghgh i can't emphasize enough how excited i am to write this!!!!!!! 
> 
> And jsyk, this is just the intro chapter so that's why it's written at such a fast pace and in my annoying 'monologue' style haha. The rest of it won't look like this.
> 
> And thanks so much [nebulousroyalty](http://nebulousroyalty.tumblr.com/) for editing this for me!! ur the best
> 
> Eyes Half Closed comes from the Crywolf song by the same name. Begin Again comes from the Purity Ring song of the same name, and all of the lyrics come from the song, too.  
> Yeah. It's gonna be one of THOSE fics.

 

 

L I N K

  
_I need not one thing more_

_Oh, wrap the ground around_

_Your gentle winding mind_

_Oh, guard the pounding sound_

 

It had been a full year since Link successfully defeated Calamity Ganon along with Zelda and saved Hyrule from its threat. The two Hylians had worked together to defeat the evil; Link used the Bow of Light to shoot at Ganon’s core to destroy its physical form for Zelda to annihilate the malicious being with her immense divine powers that finally awakened. And while Link couldn’t lie and say that he actually remembered the girl he had apparently served a century ago, he still felt a strong bond with her that aided him in their defeating of Ganon.

After it was over, she had asked if he remembered her at all. He could only stare back at her, ashamed, and she bit her lip and looked at the ground. Link felt absolutely _awful;_ even throughout all his adventures, he was only able to regain a small handful of memories. He knew that they had been close before, that was clear, but he didn’t remember the times they had spent together a century ago. All those moments they had shared before the Calamity were totally erased from Link’s mind, and she was a total stranger at first. The past was all shrouded in mystery, and Link was so thankful that despite the fact it made her sad, she understood and didn’t hold it against him.

She didn’t hold it against him during the following months after Ganon’s defeat when they worked together to help bring Hyrule back to its former glory. She didn’t hold the fact that they had to rebuild their relationship from the very beginning against him. As much as Zelda tried to convince him it was okay and that she understood, he could tell that it hurt her.

 

After those few months, Zelda had relieved him of his duties. He had already done so much for Hyrule, and it was high time that he should rest and be able to choose what to do with his life. He had had the entire world on his shoulders, and it was time for him to retire from his responsibilities, especially since Hyrule was in better shape after their time together. Link had tried to tell her that he was okay, that he could keep going, but she looked to him with those jade green eyes of hers that were wild with too many emotions for him to translate. There was thoughtfulness, sympathy, guilt, remorse, despair, grief, pain, and a quick flash of something not too different from contempt.  
“It’s fine.” She had said. “It’s fine.”

So, Link obeyed her like he had so many times before. He left her to her studies and her quests. He left her to go live his own life, but he wasn’t sure how. From the second he woke, he was given a mission to fulfill, and now that it was over and done with, what was he supposed to do with himself?

Everything that made him who he was before the Calamity had been wiped away and all he had for himself were a few memories that gave him small clues. It looked like he had been quiet, a bit timid in social situations and it seemed that he had kept to himself a bit in his past life. Though, those were only assumptions.

And when he had first been resurrected, it felt like he was totally empty; that he was a husk of a person and needed to figure out who to be and how to act.

At first, he wasn't sure, but then there was this weird craving to be a certain way, to become someone new and different than before. It was like the old him that was still trapped inside of his mind was begging to become a certain person; as if the old him was trying to use being reborn as a chance to become someone he had wanted to be in his last life but was unable to be before. Link figured that his past self really didn’t like the way he was for whatever reason, and that yearning for change still lingered within him, and so, even as a husk of a person, he listened to it.

That’s why he pushed himself into becoming an outgoing, charismatic, sociable guy. That’s why he made an effort to greet everyone he crossed paths with and that’s why he started up conversations with strangers. That’s why he always tried to impress people and strove to be on top. That’s why he became who he was now.

And so maybe that’s why Zelda looked at him that way then.

Maybe it was because he was someone completely different that wore the skin of her old friend.

Maybe she hated him for it.

Maybe she couldn’t stand being around him anymore and that’s why he sent him away.

If that was the case, he couldn’t blame her.

Even so, this was who he was now, and he went down a path he couldn’t turn back from.

But that look of hers still hurt him; it made him feel disgusting and vile and repugnant.

It made him feel like shit.

 

Sidon didn’t though.

Sidon didn’t make him feel like shit.

Sidon made him feel loved and cherished- something that he didn’t remember ever feeling.

Sidon really, truly believed in him, and it felt amazing knowing that when they first started to work together to defeat Vah Ruta. After going through everything all by himself, after feeling the weight of the entire world on his shoulders, Link finally didn’t feel so alone anymore.

Sidon made him feel important, and not just because he was the hero of Hyrule, but because he was a good person worthy of being valued and adored- with or without a sword. The Zora prince made him feel amazing even when he felt empty.

Link loved the way that Sidon never failed to give him such a warm welcome whenever he stepped foot in the Domain. He loved the way that Sidon watched him intently whenever he spoke, like every single word he said was important. And Goddess, how brightly his smile shone and how lovely his laugh was. He was so gorgeous and wonderful in every way...how could he not fall in love with him?

And Link could feel that there was something there between them. Sidon wasn’t exactly too good at hiding his feelings, honestly. His face would flush burgundy when the Hylian would get too close, and while he would try to act confident and proud all the time, he would become a stuttering mess when Link complimented him. Not to mention that he would always find some ridiculous way to justify talking to Link or be around him.

Then there was that one night they had shared when Link was staying at the Domain for a couple of days away from Zelda.

They were sitting together on the edge of Ralis Pond, just the two of them, with the moon was high in the sky. The soft moonlight lit up the pond and nearby cliff sides, fireflies flew around them, lighting up each other’s faces. They chatted over nothing in particular then, finding more and more unimportant things to discuss as an excuse to spend more time with each other and to look at one another.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, their eyes met and they shared such an intense gaze. Sapphire eyes met golden ones, and they looked at each other with such a passionate look that shivers went up the Hylian’s spine. The two of them moved closer to each other without breaking eye contact, and Sidon lifted a hand to hold Link’s face.

Sidon and Link didn’t need words. It was almost as if they could read the other’s mind, and they both knew that the words playing in the other’s head were ‘ _I love you.’_

The Zora prince leaned down and Link stretched upwards so their lips could meet,  a fiery passion coursing through each other that made the Hylian knight feel like he was going to explode into nothing. Their kiss was fierce and heated, and to Link, it seemed like the world around him dissipated and it was just only him and Sidon. Nothing else mattered. Not Zelda and that haunting look she gave him. Not Ganon and the frightening thought that it would eventually return. Not every Hyrulian that was always breathing down Link’s back, expecting him to fix all their problems simply because he was the hero.

Nothing.

They gave in to their intoxicating love and their bodies became one. The world was theirs, and theirs alone.

All of Link’s doubts, worries, and anxieties melted away when he was with Sidon, and after that night, something inside of him changed for the better.

Sidon made him better.

 

So when Link was freed from his responsibilities to do anything he wanted, that’s what he decided.

Link wasn’t sure of anything except that he was in love with Sidon, who hopefully was in love with him the same way.

That was why he set off to the Zora’s Domain to see Sidon and to be with him. By his side was right where he felt like he truly belonged, and he wanted to be there forever.

Sidon’s face shone brighter than ever before when Link came to tell him everything he felt for him, how he wanted to be with him until the end of time. Without a second thought, he grabbed Link to hold him tightly and to again kiss his lips tenderly like he had done that night when their souls intertwined.

 

After that, they were inseparable, and now not only as great friends but now as lovers- as soul mates. Their love was exciting and adventurous, and it made Link feel real and alive for the very first time.

They snuck away from boring dinners and parties for their kissing escapades they loved so much. One of them would inconspicuously grab the other’s hand, and they would give each other a knowing sideways glance before they escaped to embrace each other somewhere else.

When the sky was clear and the moon was big and bright, they would dance together on the shores of Ralis Pond along with the fireflies who joined them, lighting their faces so wonderfully like they had the night they realized they were made for each other.

Sidon loved to run his fingers through Link’s air, admiring its softness and the way it caught the light. The small Hylian always fell into his large hands and closed his eyes, feeling the Zora play with his hair while his heart grew ever warmer.

Whenever Link was upset, Sidon always pulled Link’s body close to his so he could rub his back and whisper sweet nothings into his ear. No matter how many times Sidon did it before, the Hylian’s pointy ears always blazed a deep red and twitched. The prince would chuckle, comment on how cute it was, and the blonde man would bury his face into Sidon’s chest in embarrassment.

Every night, Sidon would hold Link until he fell asleep; there he had no worries and was free to just… _be_ without being afraid. Every night he would fall asleep feeling safe and calm, listening to the sounds of Sidon’s breathing and heart beating.

Every morning, even if they couldn’t see each other in the dim morning light, their lips found each other and they smiled against each other’s lips. Every morning they would talk about the dreams they had, or come up with some other pointless things to talk about so they could stay in bed together as long as possible; where everything made sense and they could simply exist with each other. Where the world didn't expect anything out of them and nobody would judge them.

The way Sidon would smirk at him… the way he would wrap his arms around Link after being away from him… the way that Sidon took away all of his sorrows just by holding his hand… the way that Sidon was a bright light in Link’s previously grim life…

It was so magical, and Link never wanted it to end.

Yet, even though Zelda would gush over how excited she was for Link over finding his true love, whenever she saw the two of them being affectionate and exchanging loving words, she made this one face in particular. It was like her face tightened into a fake smile while her eyes grew dim… like somehow it was painful for her to see her knight happy with the Zora prince for some reason.

Link’s first thought was that it had been because she was jealous of Sidon, but that didn’t sound right. He couldn’t put his finger on it, and while he tried to act like he didn’t notice that strange sorrowful look, it still bothered him and at times he pondered over what could be going on in the princess’ head.

But that didn’t matter.

What mattered was Sidon.

What mattered was that they were hopelessly in love and they would spend an eternity that way.

So that was why when his love brought him to their special pond and revealed a ring crafted from luminous stones, Link was so overjoyed that he was certain he was going to burst right then. The ring glowed beautifully in the moonlight, but Sidon’s golden eyes glowed even brighter while he looked at Link. The fireflies that danced for them so many times before did so again, lighting up the tears falling from the Hylian’s eyes.

“Will you marry me?” A sweet voice asked.  
“Yes.” Another voice gasped, barely able to say the answer between ecstatic sobs.  
And from then on, the wonderful days felt longer and longer as Link waited ever so patiently for the day where they would finally be wed. Every day felt like a thousand years, and each hour droned on and on.

He couldn’t wait for the best day of his life, aside from the day he met Sidon on Inogo Bridge (although, they had apparently met when Sidon was a child. Not that he would remember). The amazing months with him would become amazing years- an amazing life with the one he was in love with.

While Link only had a handful of memories before the Calamity and he had next to no idea of the man he was before then, or of his companions, or of anything really, he knew that all that was behind him and he had to focus on the present. He convinced himself that who he was previously didn’t matter, no matter how adamantly it attempted to haunt him every waking second.

The other Champions’ spirits had been freed after he defeated Ganon and everything was fine. The handfuls of memories he had left of them told him what he needed to know: Mipha was sweet, Urbosa was strong and motherly, Daruk was a goof, and Revali… was obviously a huge dick. That was all he needed to know- they were all resting in peace up in the heavens anyway.

So what if he had almost no memories? It didn’t matter. What mattered was now. What mattered was Sidon. He would make more memories with him. The ones he lost didn’t matter. The way that Sidon looked at him proved that.

Everything finally felt right, and things were only going to go up from there.

At least, that’s what he thought before a guard pounded on their door, interrupting their morning cuddle and chat.

That’s what he thought before Sidon allowed the guard to enter, confused when he saw the other Zora’s face contorted into the widest smile.

That’s what he thought before the prince asked the guard what was the matter, and she told him that someone had found Mipha outside Vah Ruta unconscious, but very much alive.

That’s what he thought before Sidon’s lips curled into the biggest grin that Link had ever seen, and he bombarded the poor guard with a plethora of questions while jumping out of their bed; all without giving Link a single glance.

That’s what he thought before he felt like utter shit again because he couldn’t share the same happiness with his lover. Because he didn’t even _remember_ Mipha, much less _cared_ about her.

That’s what he thought before hearing about Mipha’s resurrection made him think of a certain someone instantly; he wondered if he, too, was resurrected.

 

Why did he think of him though? Why _him?_

 

Why Revali?

  
  


 

R E V A L I

 

_Breathe in your fiery air_

_Oh, wrap the ground around_

_Give back a hungrier stare_

_Oh, guard the pounding sound_

 

Revali’s eyes suddenly shot open.

His eyes flicked around to see the ceiling of Vah Medoh and he felt himself sprawled out on the cold ground of his Divine Beast. The Rito was left breathless, nearly choking on air as he violently inhaled at his abrupt awakening. He had had absolutely no idea how he ended up here. He couldn’t recall a single thing and was left confused, laying spread out on the floor.

The Rito groaned as he tried to dig into his mind to find some sort of clue as to how he ended up where he was, but his mind was completely blank and all he could find was a terrible headache and memories of a deep darkness.

That was until a certain memory came to mind.

He remembered being somewhere so bright that it was blinding. It was a place of white light and brilliant blues; soft clouds spread out across the clearest sky that went on forever. While he tried to play the memory out in his mind, the only sound heard was the ringing and chiming of wind chimes echoing across the space.

He felt like he had been floating on air by himself in that strange place until he was all of a sudden met by a pair of soft, radiant cerulean eyes. Those wondrous eyes that appeared out of seemingly nowhere looked at Revali in such a soothing manner that it made him feel safe and warm in a way he never felt before.

Long golden hair flowed from the woman who revealed herself to him and she wore a long elegant gown that shone an intensely bright white. The locks were floating in the air as well as the sleeves and skirt of her gown like she was in water. Her face was transcendentally beautiful and was like nothing the avian had ever seen. Her beauty was truly heavenly.

Two large wings opened from the back of the figure, revealing sparkling pure white feathers that surrounded them both. The wings curling behind him felt like two strong but gentle arms were wrapping around him to hold him in the most comforting embrace.

The figure smiled to him with a smile that shone as brightly as the sun and moon before she opened her mouth to speak, but while Revali knew she had said something to him, all he could remember were those loud chimes. He could see her mouth moving and it was clear she was saying something to him, but those wind chimes echoed in his mind and it was the only thing he could recall hearing.

Even though the identity of this woman was a mystery, there was something about her that made him feel so small and insignificant compared to her. Like she was something so much bigger and important than he was, even though she looked to him with such love and compassion.

After she was done speaking, her warm smile grew as she brought her hands to Revali’s face to cradle it gently. She cocked her head slightly and looked at him lovingly, her gaze much like a doting mother’s. Revali could only look up at her helplessly, in utter awe of her beauty and the fact that something as ethereal as her was _talking_ to him.

She tilted his head up to her, and she continued to look to him for another second before she cooed something else that he still couldn’t understand.

She brought his head closer to hers and her lips found his forehead for her to kiss tenderly. Light shone from where she laid her lips, and Revali felt a long-forgotten warmth flow through him.

She broke away, gentle cerulean eyes still lingering on the Rito as she continued to cradle his face. Her thumbs brushed against his cheek, and her smile faded slightly.

The mysterious woman slowly let go of him and he felt himself fall steadily backwards, and he descended through the clouds in slow motion.

He could just barely see her closely watching him fall further and further down, and her wings spread further outwards as an even brighter light shone behind her and spread throughout his vision. Revali’s eyes started to close as the brightness of his vicinity grew even more glaring until white was the only thing he could see.

Before the white faded into black, however, he saw a quick flash of the woman’s face and her celestial smile.

 

Revali had suddenly found himself waking up with a violent start after he was left in the darkness for who knows how long. As soon as his emerald eyes opened, he was ripped away from the warmth of wherever he had been before and was left here, sprawled out on the cold hard ground of a massive machine.

 _“What even was that?”_ He asked himself after that vision came to mind and he scoffed out loud. Well, whatever it was, he was back on Medoh once again and, as much as his entire body hurt like all hell, he-

Wait.

_Hurt?_

For the last century, he never felt any pain. Not _once._ Could that mean...

He battled through the pain long enough for him to look down at himself, and a thick gasp escaped him when he looked down to see a body; a body with flesh, feathers and all.

In disbelief, he shakily brought his wings to his body to prove that it wasn’t some sort of sick dream- that he was really _truly_ alive. He was shocked when his fingers didn’t phase through him like they had done for a hundred years before and he instead was left touching soft feathers that coated a skeletal body.

He was freakishly thin and his entire body hurt, but Revali was really, actually _alive._

His mind flooded with all sorts of thoughts.

Were his fellow Champions also awake?

Was it the Goddess Hylia herself that revived him, or was it something else?

Why now?

Revali blinked wildly as all these thoughts flooded his mind, and he knew that, somehow, he had to fight through the dreadful pain that surged through him. He had to get up and answer these questions himself. He had to get up and get out there to find out, even if it meant he had to crawl out of Vah Medoh by his fingertips.

This feeling especially rang true when Link came to mind. Memories of Link’s smile and laugh played out in his head, and he knew that he had to find what little bit of strength he still had inside of him and leave the Divine Beast that he was trapped in for an entire century.

He remembered the way that Link looked at him with distaste when he was on Vah Medoh to take back control though; the way the blue eyes that were so dazzling before looked glazed over and only held a distant look that Revali didn’t recognize.

He remembered how Link looking at him like he was a stranger shattered his heart into a million pieces, but a part of him didn't care about that anymore. It just wanted to see him again, even if he didn’t remember. He would _make_ him remember, and maybe they could be together like they should have been so very long ago. That part of him screamed at him to get up, to escape his prison and find him.   

The ave made his first attempt at standing up, which only ended with him stumbling around like a baby on its feet for the first time before falling right back down. His second try was more successful, but far from graceful; he certainly stumbled around clumsily like a fresh hatchling before he successfully stayed on his feet.

It was strange being on his feet for what felt like the very first time because his body felt so heavy and his legs were shaking violently. It was so shameful barely being able to walk, let alone fly, and Revali _hated_ it.

Even so, he staggered forward to try and reach a nearby opening to the outside world. It felt like hours before he finally arrived, and he had to grip the frame of the doorway to properly stand on his feet without falling over again.

With what felt like new eyes, he looked out onto the beautiful horizon. The sun was drifting further down the sky, taking its brilliant light with it. The vibrant warm colors of the sun were disappearing and being replaced by night’s dark blues and indigos. Even though he was forced to watch the sun rise and fall countless times by himself for an entire century, something about seeing this sunset in particular stabbed him in the heart. He had no idea why, but for whatever reason it made him want to cry.

With a shaky step, he moved further outside and was met by harsh winds that nearly sent him flying off his feet. A hundred years unable to feel anything left him unprepared for the blistering and treacherous Tabantha winds, not to mention that his body was especially weak.

He was so very cold; he hadn't felt the burning sensation brought on by the cold in a very very long time, so it was exceptionally staggering.

Revali could hear something beautiful close by; it was floating through the wind towards him to greet him from his chambers. He wondered if it was music. The melody sounded oddly familiar. It was so wonderful.

But that didn’t matter. It was fading away anyway as the terrifying, bone-chilling cold began to overcome him and his legs started to give out. His senses started to dwindle as his body started to shut down after being awake for only a few minutes.

He was so tired.

And so cold.

What was this sickening feeling coming from his stomach? Was it hunger? He couldn’t remember. It had been so long.

Revali collapsed when his legs finally gave out and hit the ground with an awful _thud._ As soon as he hit the stone floor beneath him, he laid there, absolutely still, and his eyes slowly began to shut as he gave in to darkness once more.

He was so cold. Why was he so cold?

Between the loud pounding of his own heart, he heard the sound of wings flapping closer and a worried voice calling out to him, and even though Revali’s vision was dreadfully blurry, he could make out a large sky blue figure drawing near in the sky. Still, with his senses faltering, the voice was way too loud and it was asking him if he was alright over and over again.

Of course he wasn’t. Of course he wasn’t alright. What a stupid question. What kind of idiot would be asking such a ridiculous question? He felt like he was dying all over again.

His eyelids began to fall as his senses grew ever weaker and he was alone in the darkness again.

He was so very tired.

  


~~~

 

_You be the moon, I'll be the earth_

_And when we burst_

_Start over, oh darling_

_Begin again_

_Begin again_

_Begin again_

 

 

 

 


	2. Divine Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mipha finally wakes up from being unconscious, and Link hates the way she makes him feel.  
> Meanwhile, Revali also wakes up to find a warrior named Teba accusing him of impersonating the late Rito Champion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank yoooouuuuu [nebulousroyalty](http://nebulousroyalty.tumblr.com/) for editing this again wahhhhh  
> and thanks [ kazzyhira ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazzyhira) for the best line in this whole chapter sjkghsgajk  
> sorry this chapter is a bit uneventful...but ya know. it'll get better soon  
> Also! Unathi was meant to be just some medic without a personality, but i accidentally made her a character... [here's a really bad picture of her ](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/175907178963/heres-a-really-shitty-quick-thing-of-my-new-rito)if you want to have an idea of what she looks like as you read!!
> 
> Lyrics are from Desperate Man Blues by Daniel Johnston and Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

 

 

L I N K

 

_I feel a bit funny_

_Like a ghost_

_With nowhere to go_

_My hope has gone and left me_

_A desperate man_

_There's no spunk left in me_

_I feel so hollow in me_

_So empty, so empty_

_So empty, so empty_

 

“Prince Sidon! Prince Sidon! Princess Mipha is awake!” Bazz, captain of Zora’s Domain guard, shouted as he barreled down the hallways of the Domain’s castle; his voice reverberated off the crystal walls so that Link and Sidon, who were _trying_ to have a moment together, heard him before they saw him.

Immediately, Sidon tore his hands out of Link’s, and stood up to meet the black Zora running towards him. “My sister is awake?!” He shouted, his smile shining and his eyes sparkling. The prince briskly walked up toward the guard to meet him. “She’s really awake?”

Link and Sidon both had been sitting on a window seat in the hallway, holding hands as they gazed out of the window and over the horizon with each other. But of course, it had to be ruined. The Hylian scrunched his face up slightly, displeased with this interruption of such a beautiful moment. Yes, he _knew_ that it was a big deal that Sidon’s sister, his old companion, had been revived or whatever… but he still hated being interrupted more than anything.

“Yes! She’s in her room, asking for you. Come with me.” Bazz said excitedly before turning around and racing down the hallway with Sidon trailing behind him.

Link scrunched his face even more, a bit offended that Sidon suddenly forgot that he existed. He would’ve kept looking out the window by himself, moping like the selfish piece of shit he was, if he didn’t see the ring that Sidon proposed with on his finger. He held his hand up to look at it intently, admiring its colors and the way it caught the light.

 _“You know how much this means to him. Stop acting like a child.”_ He thought to himself as he twirled the ring around his finger. With a small groan, he hoisted himself up off of his seat and trudged down the halls to find his fiancé.

Even though Link had no idea where Mipha’s room was, he easily found it by following the sounds of Sidon’s exhuberated voice. When he found the right hallway, he saw an open door at the very end with light pooling out of it and onto the hall and voices leaking out of the doorway.

A few guards were standing outside of the door, but instead of standing outside of the room like they were suppose to be, they were all peeking inside and whispering to each other in hushed voices. They whispered about how beautiful the princess was, about how they remembered seeing her when they were children, and about the oddity of her return.

Suddenly nervous at meeting Mipha again, the Hylian slowed his pace and held his hands together to fidget with the ring. He hadn’t been worried about meeting her a minute ago, yet with every step he took towards the open door, his palms got sweatier and he began to shake.

When he got to the door, he joined the guards by peeking in through the doorway. Inside he saw a beautiful Zora girl, much smaller than Sidon, sitting up in bed, smiling brightly up at her brother who was positively beaming at her from the chair he was sitting in. Even though Sidon’s back was facing him, Link could see how overjoyed he was by the way he moved while he spoke.

“I just can’t believe it’s really you! After all this time, you’re here! Right in front of me!” Sidon beamed.

“I know, Sidy. I can’t believe this either.” The Zora girl’s voice said weakly. Her voice was soft and clear, like a small bell. Mipha looked away and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds before looking back up at Sidon with large sorrowful eyes. “I only wish it happened sooner. I’m so sorry that I left you for so long. You've grown up so much and I wasn't here for you along the way.”

Sidon’s smile faded quickly and he scooted his chair closer to his sister to grab her hands and hold them. “No. Don’t say that. There’s no reason to be sorry, sister. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mipha gave Sidon a smile, but her sorrowful look didn’t go away. “Thank you, Sidy.”

Link rose a wavering fist to the side of the doorway to knock, causing both of the Zora to turn their heads toward him. Mipha’s face glowed as her mouth hung open when she saw him. “Link?”

But her smile broke and her face folded into a concerned, confused expression when Link said, “Hello, Mipha. It’s… um. It’s nice to meet you again.” He was trying his best to look friendly despite being nervous; he was giving her a grin and talked sweetly, and yet she looked at him with such… confusion and worry. Why was that?

She continued to stare while Sidon interjected. “I can’t believe this. I was so caught up in my excitement that I failed to mention that your old friend Link was here! He lives at the Domain with me now.” The Zora prince laughed at himself before looking back at Link and saying, “Sorry, love,” with a chuckle.

 _“... Love…?”_ Mipha repeated quietly, that awful look of hers growing more intense.

“Yes!” Sidon said, excitement radiating off of him from being the one to tell Mipha the wonderful news. He ushered Link further into the room and grabbed his hand to gently pull the Hylian next to him so he was standing by him in his seat, their height difference making it so that Sidon was still taller while seated. “Link and are engaged! Isn’t it wonderful?”  
Link held his smile while looking at Sidon lovingly, his heart warmed seeing his loved one still so ecstatic over their engagement. But once he looked over at Mipha, he froze.

While her lips were curled into a sweet smile, he could clearly tell that it was fake. Sadness passed over her eyes for a split second as she stared at Link, and he could see gears turning in her mind. While her smile said otherwise, something about seeing him and Sidon together pained her. “Yes, that’s so wonderful. I’m happy for you two,” she managed to say, her voice sounding genuine enough to trick her brother.

But not Link.

His lips held the smile, but his eyebrows furrowed at her in distressed puzzlement. Mipha’s expression had echoed the look that Zelda had when she saw Sidon and Link together. Though it was much more subtle, it was the same.  What did that look mean? Both Mipha and Zelda couldn’t have been jealous of Sidon, right? Then what was it? And why did her smile break when Link spoke?

Whatever.

It was fine. He would just endure this torture for now for Sidon and question her later if he had the chance; to ask her what was so _wrong_ about the two of them being together. He hated the way it made him feel.

“To think that my sister would come back before my wedding with the love of my life… I swear, I must be the luckiest man who ever lived!” Sidon cheered, totally unaware of the thickness in the air between the other two. Then the prince stopped for a moment, like something had just occurred to him. “Although, this begs the question-” He cocked his head towards his sister, golden eyes glimmering with curiosity. “-how exactly did this happen, sister? Do you remember anything?”

Mipha looked to her younger brother and the fake smile turned genuine again. “Well…” She leaned forward and her brother followed suit, as if they were having a secret exchange. “I don't want to make such radical assumptions, but I believe Goddess Hylia brought me back to life.”

Sidon’s eyes shot open and he looked at her with childlike wonder. _“Goddess Hylia?!_ What makes you think that?” Link’s eyes widened slightly and his mouth was slightly ajar.

Mipha giggled at her brother before she spoke. “The last thing I remember before waking up was being in the sky. Not like the sky above Hyrule, but it felt like it was a different dimension in a way- somewhere much different than here, if that makes sense.”

Sidon nodded and waited for her to continue.

“I was floating there, surrounded by clouds and a bright blue sky. And then suddenly, a woman appeared in front of me. She was absolutely _gorgeous_ , Sidy. I’m not sure if I can even put into words how _ethereal_ and _divine_ she was. Her eyes were this deep blue and her hair was long and golden, and she had a pair of massive wings on her back that opened and pulled me into an embrace.”

Sidon leaned further forward, totally enraptured by her story while Link found himself doing the same.

“She spoke to me and I feel she said something very important, but I can't recall what it was because the only sound I can remember is something that sounded similar to wind chimes. But after she finished speaking to me, she cradled my face and then kissed my forehead before letting go of me. And when she did, I fell backward and down through the clouds before my vision went dark.”

“Then what happened?” Sidon asked.

“Then I woke up.” She said simply, shrugging her shoulders. “I woke up inside of Vah Ruta, laying on the floor. I was so shocked to see that I was alive that I nearly had a heart attack! My body hurt like never before though, like I was on the brink of death again after so long; but I knew that I had to get to you and father, so I practically crawled my way out before I wore myself out and collapsed.”

Sidon blinked at her for a moment, perhaps waiting for an addition to the story before he spoke excitedly, while Link was left a bit speechless, pondering. “That's so amazing. Although…” Sidon put his hand to his chin. “...if it was her, I wonder why she would bring you back after all this time…” The prince jolted, and looked at his sister worriedly. “Not that I'm not overjoyed that you're here now! Whatever her reasoning is, I couldn't be more thankful!”

Mipha softly chuckled. “I know what you meant, Sidy. No worries,” she soothed. “I've been wondering the very same thing since I woke up in Vah Ruta. I'm so very glad to be with you again, but it truly is a mystery.”

Link found himself thinking hard about this. It was certainly strange that she would be resurrected a year _after_ Link had successfully defeated Calamity Ganon. If Hylia had the power to bring her back, then why didn't she right afterwards, or hell, _during_ his time running around Hyrule to save it? Then he wouldn't have had to be so alone on his mission. That thought made him terribly annoyed.

Then there was the question of whether the other Champions were awake, too. If their people were as ecstatic about the return of their Champions as the Zora were.

If… _Revali_ was back.

Link didn't understand why he was worried about that asshole; why he hoped he was awake somewhere and why he hoped he was safe and okay.

It was weird and he couldn't shake it off.

“Do you think that the other Champions have revived, too? Or were you the only one?” Link asked, watching another twinge of what he perceived to be some kind of contempt on her face.

“I'm not sure,” Mipha replied. “It would certainly make more sense if we were all resurrected, but I honestly haven't the slightest idea.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Though I hope that it is the case. Finally being reunited with everyone after more than a century would truly be wonderful.”

At that, Sidon jolted again and nearly shouted, “Oh, that's right! I forgot to tell you something else! Goddess, I'm all over the place.” The Zora prince grinned shamefully. “I sent out a letter to Princess Zelda soon after we got word that you came back, and she's on her way here. She should be here relatively soon.”

Mipha gasped quietly, and her cheeks flushed. “Zelda is coming?” She looked euphoric for a second before something shifted in her head and she suddenly looked incredibly distressed. “How soon? Today? Tomorrow? In a few hours?” she frantically asked after looking down at herself, perhaps worried that she wasn't presentable to the other princess.  

“Tomorrow, it looks like.” Sidon said, trying not to laugh at his sister’s distressed state. He had probably never saw her like this before. “You have plenty of time to rest and ready yourself.”

Great. Now Zelda was coming. Finally the two princesses would be reunited so they could have fun together by staring at Link, judging him and his life choices.

Hooray.

Sidon rose from his chair, walked over to Mipha, and crouched slightly so he wasn't towering over her. “That being said, I should leave you to rest.”

“Sidon, I'm alright.”

“No, you need your rest.” Sidon said in a bit of a demanding tone.

“Don't use that tone with me, little brother.” Mipha smirked a bit, her tone playful.

Her brother responded with a laugh. _“Technically,_ dear sister, I'm older than you now.”

At that, she giggled. “I suppose you're right.” She shook her head while she laughed and when she finished, she happily sighed. “I'll do as you say. I'm still feeling very tired anyway.”

A small adoring smile graced Sidon’s lips as he reached out a hand to hold Mipha’s. He brushed it with his thumb tenderly as he said, “I'll see you soon Mipha. Ask one of the guards to get me if you ever need me.”

“Alright. I'll see you soon, Sidy.” She looked over at Link, startling him. “And you, too, Link.”

The Hylian only smiled and nodded in response.

With that, the two Zora siblings exchanged loving looks before they let go of each other’s hands and Sidon turned away to leave. Link started to follow him out the door, but something stopped him when he was about to walk through the doorway.

He looked at Mipha sitting in her bed, who was looking back at him. He turned on his feet slowly to face her and he fidgeted with his hands while he searched in his mind for something to say. “It was nice to see you again, even though I don’t quite remember you.”

The Zora girl held a solemn smile. “It was very nice to see you again as well, Link. Regardless of whether you remember me or not.”

Link found some comfort in that, and nodded before turning to leave again. But Mipha stopped him.

“You have changed a lot, you know.” He turned his head back to her to see her eyes fixed on him, and that scared him more than when he was fighting Calamity Ganon.

“Have I?” Was all he could utter.

She looked off to the side, relieving Link of the anxiety of her stare. “You're a completely different person now. It’s...odd. On Vah Ruta, I could tell that something must have changed when you woke, but seeing you here like this is especially strange.”

Link remembered when he first woke up after hearing Zelda’s voice, and how he woke up an empty slate. He ran around the Great Plateau like a zombie, all while in his head trying to figure out who he was besides his name. The inner depths of his mind was screaming at him, not telling him who he _was_ , but who he _should_ be.

_Be proud!_

_Be outgoing!_

_Be daring!_

_Be friendly!_

_Be courageous!_

_And above all else,_

 

_Don't let anyone get too close._

 

Link had failed that last one, but he tried his best with the others. Maybe the reason why he was as attached to Sidon as much as he was was because he had become the only person Link cared about; the only one he could talk to, spend time with. And Sidon was the sole person that cared for him and not just because he was the hero and not just because he did something nice for him. But because Sidon was just that amazing.

“Is that a good or bad thing?” Link asked her, his mouth dry.

“I don't know,” Mipha nearly whispered. She still had her eyes on the wall next to her, but then she brought them up to him. “But my brother seems to love you with all his heart, so this new you must be good for him. It might not be a bad thing then.” The princess adjusted herself to lay down in the bed, still watching the Hylian. “I suppose we will have to wait and see if you've changed for the better.”

Link stood there dumbly for a second, unsure of what to say. He didn't know if that was suppose to make him feel relieved or sad. Either way, he turned to leave. “See you later, Mipha.”

“Goodbye, Link.”

The guards standing by the doorway watched him as he left, their eyes following him as he made his way down the hall. A small part of him wanted to scream at them to just stop staring at him. For _everyone_ to just stop _staring_ at him all the gods damn time.

But of course he didn't, and he clenched his fists tightly instead.

Before, he had thought that it was best that he had changed to the person he was now. He was a go-getter, the life of the party, and he didn't have to rely on anyone else except for Sidon.

He was comfortable with that. He felt good. He felt fine.

But that just changed.

Even though Mipha verbally said it was for the best, something about the way she spoke and eyed him told him differently.

He wasn't sure anymore.

 

Link roamed the halls in search of his fiancé.

  
  


R E V A L I

 

_So, so you think you can tell_

_Heaven from hell_

_Blue skies from pain_

_Can you tell a green field_

_From a cold steel rail?_

_A smile from a veil?_

_Do you think you can tell?_

 

Revali could hear people talking from far away, chattering. The voices were muffled at first, but as he woke up more and more, they became more distinct. His eyes followed suit, slowly opening as his vision grew less and less blurry.

He woke up in a bed with four other figures in the hut he was in. Two of them were beside him; on his right side was a Rito wearing glasses with plum feathers and a loose ponytail shuffling through a bag, and the other on his left was a large sky-blue and orange Rito watching him intently. The other two in the room were a old owl-like Rito sitting in a rocking chair in the corner, listening to a white Rito that Revali recognized talking to his senior with his arms crossed.

The light blue Rito’s butterscotch colored eyes lit up when he saw Revali wake, and the corners of his black beak curled up into a smile. “He’s awake.” He said, loud enough for the others to hear and quiet enough so as not to bother the newly awakened avian.

The other three turned their heads to look at him. The elder Rito smiled and exclaimed with an excited “Oh!” while the warrior in front of him merely turned to look with an unchanged, serious expression. The purple Rito next to Revali turned her head, and blurted, “Oh, thank the Goddess. I was starting to get worried.”

Revali groaned as his pain came flooding back to him. He started to sit up, but the plum avian gently pushed him back down. “Now, now. Lay back down. You’re very weak, so you need plenty of rest.”

While Revali normally would have shot a glare to the stranger and sat up anyway, he knew she was right and acquiesced to her request. He was _very_ weak and everything hurt terribly.

“I'm so relieved you're awake now. My name is Kass,” The larger Rito said, still smiling warmly. “I found you the other day and brought you h-”

Revali interrupted Kass’ explanation by asking weakly, “‘The other day?’ How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days.” The purple Rito said before very rudely putting her face right in front of Revali’s to check his eyes and then shove her fingers in between the feathers on his forehead to touch his skin and check his temperature without asking permission. After she was satisfied, she muttered a small “good, good” under her breath before continuing. “My name is Unathi and I’m a medic. Over there is Teba and Kaneli.” As she introduced the others, she motioned towards them respectively.

Having a name to the warrior that Revali watched closely from atop Vah Medoh was nice, until he opened his mouth. “And who are you? You’re not from the village and nobody recognizes you from any of the nearby settlements.” His voice was rough and accusing. It was obvious that he did not trust Revali one bit.

“Teba, leave him be. He just woke up and he’s clearly been through a lot.” The Rito called Kass scolded, his soft expression fading away as he turned to furrow his brows at the white avian behind him. “Save your interrogation for when he has his strength back.”

Teba let out a _feh_ before stating, “He doesn’t need his strength to answer a few simple questions. For instance, why was he in Vah Medoh? What was he doing in there? How can we let him get away with trespassing on something so sacred?” He squinted to glare at Revali, completely unaware of who it was he was talking to.

“Teba, enough.” Kaneli spoke, his old voice still low and soft, but harsh enough to make the warrior stop his wrongful allegations. “Kass is right. He needs rest and we can save our questions for later. He hasn’t given us any reason to not trust him, so enough with your accusations.”

The white Rito’s frown tightened and he looked away. And with that, Kass looked back to Revali, his smile returning. “Sorry about him. He has a nasty habit of being suspicious of outsiders.”

“It’s alright. I don’t blame him.” Revali said while shaking his head slowly. While it was annoying to automatically be deemed as a strange outsider, he knew he would act the same way if he were Teba. “I would be, too. I can see how I would arouse suspicion.”

Kass blinked at him, perhaps a bit surprised at his acceptance of Teba’s rude behavior. “I see,” he uttered, then beamed again and nodded. “I’m sorry to ask you this, but could we at least get your name? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Revali looked around the room to see the four other Ritos watching him, waiting for his answer. He took a short intake of breath, unsure of whether he should make a name up on the spot, or be honest and risk them not believing him and distrusting him even further. Answering honestly would be especially dangerous with this ‘Teba’ in the room, who already looked like he wanted to beat him up as it was.

Revali’s mind went back on forth on what to do, analyzing every possible scenario before the truth slipped out without him even noticing. “Revali.”

Everyone stared at him in surprise, eyes wide and beaks hung open. Except for Teba, who looked at him scornfully. Revali remained emotionless, uncharacteristically unsure of what to do in this situation.

“Oh!” Kaneli suddenly shouted, and his surprised look fell. “Oh, of course! Ha, you must’ve been named after Champion Revali then? Goddess, I can’t believe that for a second I actually thought…” Unathi and Kass both repeated the little “Oh” and laughed to themselves at their foolishness.

“No. No, that’s me.” Revali said flatly.

Those blank, shocked looks returned, but Teba’s face grew darker and it sincerely looked like he was going to burst into a fit of fury. The other three turned to one another, babbling amongst each other to try to come up with some feasible explanation.

“No, it can’t be. There’s no way.” Kass said, blinking wildly and looking over at Unathi.

“Yes, there’s no way that he’s _actually_ Champion Revali.” The woman agreed, her wide eyes narrowed to look at Revali suspiciously as she adjusted her glasses.

“Perhaps he is delusional? Maybe he hit his head?” The sky-blue Rito tried to reason, looking over at their Elder for his wise input.

“That could be true.” Unathi answered instead, shaking her head and putting her fingers to her temples. “Hylia, why are we even talking about this like it’s a possibility? There’s no way it’s even possible. He’s just nuts.”

Kass looked away from Kaneli and back at the purple avian, his eyes still wide while hers started to grow dim with annoyance. “It could be.”

Unathi crossed her arms and leaned back to peer up at the larger Rito across from her. “No, Kass, it can’t. Even if Revali didn’t really die when the Calamity started, he still would have died from old age at this point. And who’s to say he even existed anyway? Wasn’t it all just some story?”

“No, it is _not_ just a story, Unathi. That all happened.” Kass defended, the edges of his beak beginning to curl downwards.  
Unathi clicked her beak and rolled her eyes. “Hm. Yeah. Sure.”

“If Link and Zelda, the hero and princess from the legend, are here now, don’t you think it proves it was real and it could be possible that Revali has also reawakened?” Kass said, leaning forward and squinting, trying to get her to agree with him.

“You know I don’t believe such trivial things.” The plum ave said, closing her eyes and waving away Kass’ words that she deemed to be foolishness. “I am a woman of science.”

Kass frowned deeply, a look that was unbefitting for him. Clearly this wasn’t the first time they argued over something like this before and it wouldn’t be the last.

“Either way,” Kaneli began, trying to break up their fruitless argument. “That scarf he’s wearing...it looks identical to what Champion Revali wore, yes? Isn’t that the sacred garb that princess Zelda crafted herself?”

Unathi let out an annoyed sigh; her disrespectful behavior towards the Elder surprised Revali. Did something change in the last hundred years, or was this Rito in particular just very impolite? “Elder, he could be a descendant of Revali’s and the garb was passed down to him. That’s probably what this is.”

“That could be, Unathi. But Revali’s body was never found, so how would they have retrieved it from him?” Kaneli replied, and Unathi frowned at having no counterargument .

“And not to mention, he fits the description of all the poems written about him.” Kass stated before closing his eyes to quote a poem by heart, the ends of his beak curling upwards. _“‘Feathers like the darkest night, small of stature but master of flight. Wild eyes of emerald with a piercing and frightening gaze-”_

 _“...gave him the sight to hit his target, no matter how far, always,”_ Unathi finished for him. _“_ Yes Kass, we _know_ that poem. We’ve all heard it about a thousand times. His looks could just run in the family.”

“Oh!” Revali chuckled, interrupting the debate that carried on like he wasn’t there. “So ol’ Ansel really went and wrote a poem about me like he said he would, huh? What an honor.”

The three babblerers looked at him, eyes wide for the third time, but especially more so now that Revali had just addressed an old famous poet as ‘ol’ Ansel’, as if they were acquainted, even though, Revali presumed, he had been dead for a long time. Their faces of shock and puzzlement only put it into perspective how out of place he was here, and to his dismay, he felt himself get a bit uncomfortable.

But Teba, visibly seething with rage in the background, was tired of being quiet. He had enough of the idiocy of the others and was ready to blow. “How _dare_ you try to impersonate Champion Revali like this! What do you hope to gain from making a parody of him?!”

Revali decided that he didn’t like this ‘Teba’ very much. His whole body ached, his head was throbbing, everyone was starting to be too loud for him, and now this guy was suspecting him of _impersonating himself?_ He gritted his maize beak together before growling, “excuse _you,_ Te-bitch. I didn’t get brutally murdered by one of Ganon’s disgusting pawns for you to get your little down feathers in a knot.” _  
_ Unathi snorted and Kass clenched his beak shut and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. The giant Rito shuffled and then sat upright, watching for Teba’s response; suddenly thrown on high alert after taking a second to be totally shocked over Revali’s insult.

“You-!” Teba choked, his anger suffocating him as his arms uncrossed and he clenched his hands at his sides, striding over with unadulterated fury in his eyes. It looked like he was going to race to Revali’s side and beat him to a pulp, but after a quick flash of worry and panic shone in Kass’s eyes, the larger Rito stood up and faced Teba, nonverbally relaying to the warrior that he should stand down. Even though Revali had crossed a line, Kass still stood his ground to defend the bedridden Rito.

Surprisingly, Teba stopped in his tracks when Kass rose, and he shot a death glare up at the bright blue Rito, who shot back a disapproving look that, again, didn’t look right on his face. The white ave let out a hard scoff and shot the glare towards Revali instead. “If you really _are_ Revali, then tell me this: why would you be ‘reawakened’ _now_ of all times, if that’s what you believed happened? And how _exactly_ did it happen, huh?”

“Listen. I’m just as confused as you are.” Revali said, his voice stern but understanding. He shrugged his shoulders as much as he could while laying down. “I just woke up in Vah Medoh without _any_ idea of what happened, and I certainly don’t know why.” He decided to leave out the part with the woman of golden hair that he thought revived him; he figured it would only make him less believable.

Teba didn’t buy it, as told by the glare that still stuck to his face. “Right. Of course.”

Against his better judgment, Revali fought through the pain to sit up and look at Teba. Unathi jumped and reached out her arms for support. “Look. I understand why you don’t trust me. I’m a Rito you’ve never seen before that was poking around in Vah Medoh. I understand your worry.” Revali was pleased to see Teba’s face soften when he said this. “I know that it’s all very far fetched, but-” He grunted from a sudden pain at his side and Unathi went to help him lay down again, but he only held out a hand to stop her. “....but, if there’s any way I can prove to you that I really am Revali, let me know.”

The white warrior stared at Revali for a moment, his electric yellow eyes studying him. There were a few beats of silence before he finally spoke. “Make the updraft.”

“Teba!” Kass and Unathi yelled and threw their heads to Teba in unison while Kaneli watched, amused.

“What? If there’s any way to prove that he’s really who he says he is, that’s what it would be,” the snow white avian told the others before putting his hands on his hips and smiling a slightly devious smile at the navy Rito. “That is, unless you can’t do it.”

“Oh, cut it out, Teba!” Unathi spat. “It doesn’t matter who he is! He’s _weak_ and needs rest before he can do anyth-”

“Alright.” Revali interrupted again with a smirk that mirrored Teba’s. “I’ll try to regain my strength by tomorrow, and then I’ll prove to you and everyone else that I am who I say I am.”

Both Kass and Unathi looked at Revali in utter disbelief while Teba, still holding a ugly smile, said, “Perfect. Looking forward to you making a fool of yourself.”

“Likewise.” Revali replied, his eyebrows raising in delight. The warrior grunted, nodded his head, and exited the hut. After the two Rito by Revali’s side finished watching Teba leave, they looked at Revali.

“My, my. This will certainly be interesting.” Kaneli laughed to himself quietly in the corner, rocking in his chair.

“You aren’t actually going to try and prove him wrong, are you?” Kass questioned, his eyes full of worry for the navy avian. “It was only three days ago that I found you on the brink of death!”

“Kass is right,” Unathi agreed. “You need to rest for another couple of days before you can even try to fly.”

Revali shrugged, and then fell backwards into the bed with his hands behind his head, and gritted his beak at the pain it brought him. “Well, I better rest up then.” He looked up at the medic, who blinked at him before smirking as well.

“Well, I have a hard time believing that you’re actually Revali, but you certainly do act like what the stories say, I’ll give you that.” She looked up from Revali to the Rito across from her. “Hey, Kass. Do you think you can keep an eye on him with the elder for a couple of hours? I have some other patients to see today.”

The larger blue ave smiled again. “Of course. I’ll stay here. Go on ahead.”

“Thanks.” Unathi grabbed all her supplies and shoved them in her bag before standing up and slinging it over her shoulder. “Now, promise me, Revali or whoever the hell you are, that you’ll at least wait until tomorrow evening to try and do that crazy trick. I know I can’t stop you, but just rest for as long as possible, okay?” She stood over him for a moment and then turned around to leave.

“Whatever you say.”

Her smirk deepened before she said her goodbyes to the other Rito in the room, and left to treat other patients.

Kass watched her leave before turning back to Revali. “Don’t listen to Teba and Unathi. They’re both sticks in the mud.” He chuckled softly,  the warm smile from earlier returning. “It certainly does sound far fetched, but I believe you, Revali. So far, you perfectly fit the songs and poems that describe you.”

The navy Rito returned the smile and was about to thank him when Kaneli, who was watching everything unfold from his seat, spoke up. “It may not mean anything coming from me, as I’m just an old fool, but I believe you, too.” The elder stopped rocking and instead leaned forward. “I can just barely remember seeing Champion Revali when I was a hatchling before the Calamity, and I’m certain that he looked _exactly_ like you.” He looked up at the ceiling, as if finding the right memory in the depths of his mind. “I remember the day when Revali tried to teach the children archery, but he told me I was too young and I would have to wait.” The old man’s face lit up at this memory, thinking of the wonderful days before the Calamity.

Revali let out a small laugh. “I remember that! So that was you? I remember you being so upset and your mother rushed over and pulled you away because she didn't want you to ‘bother the Champion’.”

“That’s right! Yes, I think I remember.” Kaneli threw back his head to laugh, not only from recalling the childhood memory, but also from glee at being able to share a memory with the great Champion Revali. If he had doubts about Revali’s identity before, he surely didn’t now.

When he finished, Kaneli looked back towards the Rito in bed and began talking again. “Even if you aren’t sure how you came back and there doesn’t seem to be a reason for you to be resurrected, considering Ganon has already been defeated...” Old sunken eyes sparkled brightly as Kaneli continued, “... I’m glad that our Champion has returned to us.”

Maybe it was because of the crippling fatigue, but Revali was unable to come up with some sly and self-righteous comment like he normally would, and instead returned the smile and said, “And I’m very glad to be back.”

“Pardon me,” Kass spoke up again, his eyes sparkling the way that Kaneli’s did. He shuffled around in seat, perhaps trying to contain his excitement. “But there’s just so many questions to ask you...” Revali looked to him with an accepting smile that told him to continue. Kass looked nervous and took a moment to compose himself before he leaned in closer and spoke quietly, like it was a secret conversation between the two of them. “So, is it really true? Can you really control the winds to create your own updraft? Or was that just the old poets and bards overexageratting?”

Revali chuckled and smirked.

“You’ll just have to see for yourself tomorrow, my friend.”

 

 

 


	3. Incomplete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link has a confusing dream that rattles him up.  
> Zelda arrives at Zora's Domain and Link's reaction worries Sidon.  
> Revali proves who he is to Teba and receives a letter from Princess Zelda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big OOF i'm sorry that it took this long to get this update out ;;;;  
> haha it's 23 pages... **but if you want to skim through this chapter, feel free to! again, it's more of a set up for future antics.** I'm sorry that there's so many long intro chapters. i promise that next chapter is when it actually starts up  
>  I cut a lot out, including a scene with a couple of Rito OCs that I made for this fic. I'm saving the scene for later but they still pop up here. tbh I have drawings of them already, but I'll wait to link to them when they're actually a part of the story.
> 
> thanks so much [nebulousroyalty](http://nebulousroyalty.tumblr.com/) again for editing this mONSTER for me!!!!!!!!!!!!! and also for helping me figure out the intro scene and other things!!!!!!!!!  
> and also thanks to [ kazzyhira ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazzyhira) for another wonderful line by Revali and credit to [ adahimius ](https://adahimius.tumblr.com/) for her 'cuckoo bird' headcanon that i'll get more in depth with in the future!!!!
> 
> Lyrics for Link's part is from Vampyre of Time and Memory by Queens of the Stone Age. The poem used for Sidon's is the poem Slow (i think) by Nayyirah Waheed. The lyrics for Revali's part is from Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons

L I N K

  


_Who are you to me?_

_Who am I supposed to be?_

_Not exactly sure anymore_

_Where's this going to?_

_Can I follow through?_

_Or just follow you for a while?_

  
  


Whether it was some horrible dream or a memory that had came to him while he was asleep, Link wasn’t sure. But whatever it was, it played out in his mind while he slept the night after he met Mipha again.

 

It was nighttime then, though clouds had covered the moon, hiding away its light from all of Hyrule. The thick grey clouds that overcasted the whole sky unleashed heavy rainfall down from the heavens. The branches of lush trees whipped around in the rough winds, their green leaves being tossed around fiercely.

Link was crouched behind a tree, his arm over Zelda. The two of them, along with a large group of soldiers and guardians behind them, were watching and waiting in the woods by the walls to Castle Town for the perfect moment to infiltrate back into Hyrule Castle.

The soldiers and warriors with them had come from all over; there were the soldiers that had survived Ganon’s awakening in the castle, Sheikah warriors, and a handful of others from everywhere else. There were also various guardians within the cluster of people, the Sheikah in charge of manning them during the attack.

They had been waiting silently and patiently for the Champions to aim their beams from their Divine Beasts onto Calamity Ganon, giving them the opportunity to rush in and to give them the upperhand in the fight.

All they could do before that was to watch Calamity Ganon snake around the castle, which was shrouded in black mist that flickered crimson in its wake.

Zelda was biting her lip, trying her very best to stay hopeful and strong for everyone, but she was shaking. Link held her close to try and calm her, despite knowing it wasn’t going to work. The weight of the situation was getting to be too much for her, as it was too much for Link, too.

“They’ll shoot their lasers, then we’ll fight Ganon, and then we will succeed,” she whispered under her breath to herself over and over in a daze, trying to calm herself down but only managing to make her dissociate and become more restless. “They’ll shoot their lasers, then we’ll fight Ganon, and then we will succeed.” Tears started to form in the corners of her jade green eyes as she failed to relieve herself of all the weight of Hyrule on her shoulders.

All Link could do was hold her close and smooth down her hair to comfort her. Link felt the same way that she had; that if he had made one small mistake, then everything would fall apart and it would’ve been his fault.

But he had to be her rock.

Although the Link recalling this couldn’t remember for the life of him the relationship that he and Zelda had all those years ago, he could feel the devotion he had for her and how he _needed_ to protect her and make her feel safe at all costs. Afterall, he had sworn to her that he would always be there for her. So even though he himself was ever so slowly falling apart because of the dread that hung in the air, he kept holding onto her at an attempt to make her feel secure.

Link had started to rub her back when a Hylian soldier behind them called out, “Look!” Everyone looked up past the trees towards the castle to follow his pointed finger, where they could see four beams appear in the sky and re-adjust to move towards Hyrule Castle and Calamity Ganon. He felt himself let out a huge breath he hadn’t even realize he was holding in.

Everyone cheered and Zelda lifted her head, a flabbergasted and relieved smile spread on her face as her last tears fell. Link gave her a reassuring smile and moved a few strands of blonde hair out of her face.

Link could feel hope bubbling up inside of him then, making him think that everything was going to be okay and that Ganon didn’t stand a chance against them.

That was until everything went south.

A few worried and confused exclamations let out by the others made Link look up to see one of the lasers slowly disappear. It was the laser that came from the direction of Vah Ruta, so everyone swung their heads to look to the east.

Link threw his head to see the Divine Beast that sat atop Lanaryu’s highlands become shrouded in the very same mist that surrounded Hyrule Castle. The bright blue lights that always radiated off of Vah Ruta flickered, and was replaced by the bright crimson that colored the lightning striking from inside the mist.

Ganon… what did it do to her? She wouldn’t have let this happen.

No...

At seeing Mipha’s machine get taken over by their enemy, Zelda’s breathing stopped altogether. The hopeful look she had before shattered and the tears that stuck to the corners of her eyes flowed. She brought a pair of trembling hands to her mouth and she looked up at Link. “You… you don’t think that…”

After Link was able to tear himself away from the horrific thought that started to plague Zelda’s mind, he gripped her tighter and held her closer while little hiccups escaped her.

The thought that something happened to Mipha… that she could be dead… that Ganon could have killed her...

Link was filled to the brim of a horrifying emotion that he couldn’t remember ever feeling. It truly felt like his entire body was shutting down from this intense and complex grief that engulfed him.

He never felt like this before… had he?

  


**_‘Don’t remember! Don’t remember! Don’t remember!’_ ** Echoed in his brain in his own voice, yet in a way that wasn’t familiar at all. He never spoke this way- so timid and desperate.

  


The woods had grown still and quiet, everyone assessing the state of Vah Ruta and coming to the same conclusion that Link and Zelda had.

Something had happened to the Zora Champion and now Vah Ruta wouldn’t be aiding them in this fight.

They all stared at the castle, panic taking hold of them as they watched the other lasers try to finish their alignment, but then another laser suddenly shut off. It came from the direction of Vah Rudania in Eldin, and while they couldn’t see the Divine Beast from where they were, they could easily assume what had happened judging from what they had seen from Vah Ruta after it turned off.

Zelda quaked harder in Link’s arms, her voice a low, haunting whisper. “No… No…” The tear drops that were flowing from her eyes got thicker and her hiccups got louder and stronger that they nearly choked her.

 

_But I have to… I need to understand… I have to remember…_

  


At that point, the soldiers behind them were in hysterics; they asked and questioned each other for what they should do next and if it was even possible for anyone to survive the fight against Calamity Ganon without the help of two Divine Beasts. Then there was the question of if the other Champions were going to be able to fight through Ganon’s possession of their machines and survive.

Link grabbed onto Zelda and squeezed her, but now he wasn’t doing it just to try and help calm her. He was now trying to calm himself down and trying to keep the harrowing feeling at bay so he could still be able to fulfill his duty of protecting her.

 

**_‘No! No! Stop! It hurts too much!’_ **

 

Everyone’s chatter ceased when another laser went out from where Vah Naboris was. They all stared in the direction of the Gerudo Champion’s Divine Beast, and then looked up towards the last remaining laser in the sky.

Through her tears and Link’s arms holding her, Zelda had still seen what happened and started sobbing even louder. “Please… No… Please, Hylia… No…”

It took every ounce of Link’s strength to not sob along with the princess in his arms. They had just lost three of their closest companions and three of the best friends that Link had ever had in his entire life.

But that one laser lingered still, just about to hit the castle.

Revali’s laser.

He looked at it, feeling a strange mix of faith and despair.

Not Revali. Not him. Not him, too. He had to get through this. He had to.

But why did he think that?

 

_Why? I have to remember! I hate not knowing!_

 

His mouth felt dry, watching the beam, and Zelda continued to sob in his arms. His eyes were so fixated on it that his eyes burned, and he prayed over and over again to Hylia, Din, Naryu and Farore that Revali wouldn’t face the same fate as the others.

Even though the world was starting to fall apart around them, the thought that Revali would die was so much worse for a reason that Link couldn’t recall.

 

**_‘Please! I can’t go through this again! Please! I want to forget!’_ **

 

Then the beam flickered out, as did the Vah Medoh’s blue lights and all hope that Link still gripped onto.

His jaw clenched so tightly it hurt as he tried to hold in the tears that were stinging the corner of his eyes. He gripped onto his princess tighter, trying to find any bit of sanity he had left so he could pull through.  
But there was none and so the two Hylians were left there, holding onto each other and sobbing while the rain turned into a storm, matching their state of minds.

Even though Link couldn’t remember anything about the others, the times they shared together and their bonds, he could _feel everything._ He could feel the immeasurable pain that the Champions’ death gave him, though, the thought of _Revali_ dying by whatever horrors they were faced with on their Divine Beasts destroyed him.

 

_Why do I feel this way about Revali? Why?_

 

Everyone behind them started to panic, but Link couldn’t hear them because the world had stopped turning. His senses stopped and all he could think about were the others. _Especially_ Revali.

But why?

 

**_‘Please, just stop! I can’t do this again! I don’t want to feel that way again!’_ **

 

Why was the thought of Revali being killed alone on Vah Medoh so much worse?

 

_I don’t understand! Let me remember so I can!_

 

Why was his smiling face appearing in his mind and giving him this inexplicable agony?

 

**_‘No! I can’t!’_ **

 

Why did he have to feel this way?

 

_Why?!_

 

It was so painful he couldn’t bear it.

 

**_‘Because I don’t want to live through losing him again!’_ **

 

It hurt so much.

  


He heard the panicked chatter behind them turn into horrified cries, so he slowly turned around to look behind him.

All the guardian’s bright lights were turning crimson.

 

~~~

  


Suddenly Link woke up from being shook. His eyes shot open and they stung very badly. The first thing he saw was Sidon over him, his face hard with worry. “Link! Link! Darling, are you okay?”

Link weakly sat up using his elbows, but Sidon didn’t let go of him. He brought the tips of his fingers to his face to feel tears covering his cheeks and snot running down from his nose. He turned his head to look at the Zora prince sitting up beside him, whose face still hadn’t relaxed. “What… happened?” Link’s voice whispered, even though he could easily guess the reason why his fiancé shook him awake. The water and mucus he found on his face was a telltale sign, as well as the blankets and sheets that were thrown all over the place.

“You were screaming and crying in your sleep. You were thrashing around, too,” Sidon explained, his face finally relaxing when Link seemed to be alright. “I couldn’t even understand what you were screaming about… I was so frightened.” He grabbed Link’s arm tighter. “Are you okay?”

When the Hylian opened his mouth to say he was fine, a sob that wasn't his tore out of his throat instead and his tears flowed once more and so much harder this time. He didn’t understand why though- it was like his body was crying for him, because it remembered all the pain that his mind had forgotten.

His hands reached out to hold onto Sidon and he dug his face into his chest to howl over everything he lost and forgot.

The Zora prince hugged the Hylian close to him and ran his fingers through the dirty blonde hair on his head at an attempt to soothe him as he started to sing to him with his sweet voice. He sang an old Zora lullaby, the soft and soothing words just barely caught by Link’s ears over his deafening cries that didn't belong to him but erupted from his own throat.

Somehow, Sidon singing made him feel so much better and so much worse at the same time.

  
  
  


S I D O N

  


_Consider this place_

_Consider this place_

_As safe_

_When you take off your throat_

_Lay your voice in the middle of the bed_

_Open your back up to me_

  
  
  


Something was up with Link.

Something that Sidon didn’t know.

And while it worried him that he had no idea what was hurting Link so much, he knew that when the time was right, Link would tell him about whatever was troubling him. They were close enough that he wouldn’t keep any secrets from him…

Right?

Either way, Sidon had woke up first in the morning and Link was still clinging onto Sidon in his sleep. The Zora ever so slowly brought his hand up to move the Hylian’s bangs to reveal a face that was still tear-stained, even though it had been a few hours since he had woken up to Link’s crying. He was sleeping peacefully now though, his lips partially open as he breathed softly.

The early morning sunlight shone through the windows in the room they shared; the rays of sunshine perfectly landing on Link’s face to highlight all his perfections. Sidon smiled warmly at his fiancé and continued to run his fingers through his soft hair.

 

Eventually, Link’s sapphire eyes opened and squinted as he smiled to see Sidon smiling back at him. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Link.”

Link shuffled closer to Sidon, but not so much that they had to break eye contact. “I’m sorry about last night.”

The prince shook his head, maintaining eye contact and his loving smile. “Don’t apologize for that.” His smile began to falter when he furrowed his brow to question, “are you sure you’re alright, though? You do know that you can always talk to me, right?”

The Hylian broke eye contact by looking off the side, obviously troubled by something. “Yeah, I’m fine. Really.”

Sidon pursed his lips slightly. As much as he wanted to question Link until he finally opened up to let Sidon know what was going on inside his head, he didn’t want to be pushy. Link had already snapped at Sidon for being pushy in the past and he wouldn’t want to upset him again. Instead, he changed the subject. “Zelda is coming today…” he said, hoping it would make his love feel better but it did the opposite.

Link groaned loudly as he flopped over onto his back.

Sidon rose an eyebrow. “What? I thought you would be excited for this. I thought you two were-”

“Friends? Nope, not really,” Link bellowed, interrupting the Zora. “I mean, once upon a time maybe, but certainly not now, that’s for sure.”

“Why do you say that?”

Link groaned again and bought his hands to his face and to rub at his face. “I’m not sure. We had to start all over again with being friends, you know? And I guess that she decided not to like me anymore.” He slammed his arms back down to his sides, shaking the bed beneath him. “Like I’ve told you, I’m pretty sure that I am a _very_ different person now than what I was before the Calamity. I’m not sure how exactly, but I know it for a fact.”

“Oh, this again? Link-”

“Yeah, yeah I know. I’m who I am now, and who I am now is wonderful.” Link turned his head to look back at Sidon, who was relieved to see the Hylian flashing him a smile. “Just like you’ve told me many times.”

“Exactly.” Sidon said, gently poking Link’s nose for emphasis. “Exactly that.”

Link laughed at having his nose poked, but then his smile began to disappear. “Still though…” His head turned back towards the ceiling and his face crinkled into a frown. “Having her around makes me feel… yucky.” He scrunched up his nose like he smelled something bad. “I know she doesn’t do it on purpose, but she makes me feel guilty about something and I’m not sure what.”

“Well…” Sidon cooed before scooting closer to his fiancé and nuzzling into the side of his face. “I’ll be right there with you to help you not feel ‘yucky’.”

Link sighed blissfully and closed his eyes. “Thanks,” he said softly.

“For what?” Sidon quietly asked, nuzzling even closer into Link’s smaller frame.

“For always being so understanding, even if my whole situation is… confusing.” The Hylian crooked his neck to meet eyes with the Zora that was cuddling into him. “And I guess for wanting to help me not feel ‘yucky’.”

Sidon raised his head from Link’s neck and sat up using his elbows, still smiling. “You’re welcome.” He watched Link sit up, his dirty blonde hair an absolute mess, and stretch out his arms like he did everytime he woke up. Link was pulling one arm to his far left, twisting his abdomen, but stopped mid-stretch when Sidon said, “How about we have some breakfast and meet up with my sister to wait for Zelda to arrive?”

Link, still frozen in his stretching position, tightened his lips into something that wasn’t quite a frown, but might as well have been. “Sure.”

Sidon squinted at him quizzically for half a second.

 

What was going on with him?

  


~~~

  


A couple of hours later, Sidon, Link and Mipha sat on a stone bench facing the bridge that led to the Zora’s Domain.

Sidon was in between his sister and his fiancé, trying to keep the both of them included in conversations, but Link refused to say anything. It seemed like Link couldn't bring himself to talk to Mipha or to even _look_ at her. He only stared at the ground with a face of guilt, avoiding eye contact from the Zora siblings.

Sidon didn't want to force him into conversations he didn't want to be in, so he only held Link’s hand in his and brushed it with his thumb to try and comfort him while he spoke with his sister.

  


Then, from the distance, the three of them spotted a white horse approaching the bridge and a familiar head of long blonde hair.

“It’s her.” Mipha said, interrupting her own sentence. “It’s Zelda!” The Zora girl’s face smiled wider than Sidon had thought possible and she jumped from her seat to stand there totally still as she watched the stallion grow ever closer.

As soon as the horse got to the edge of the bridge, the rider hopped off of the horse and held onto the reins to walk further down the bridge. It was clear then that it was the Hylian princess; her long blonde hair flowed behind her as she walked, wearing her token outfit with its turquoise shirt and tall brown boots. While Sidon’s sister started to make small squeals of delight, Link grumbled something quietly to himself.

Mipha couldn’t handle waiting for her friend to get any closer, so she started to run away from the bench and onto the bridge with arms outstretched, calling out the Hylian princess’ name.

Zelda noticed the Zora girl running towards her and even though Sidon was far away, he could see the massive smile that spread across her face. “Mipha!” In a daze of glee, she let go of her horse’s reins and dashed towards the other princess. Thankfully, the well trained horse stayed where he was.

When they reached each other, they wrapped their arms around one another and Zelda twirled in circles, spinning the smaller girl around and around. Mipha gigged loudly and Zelda laughed along until she stopped spinning so they could press their lips together into an affectionate kiss.

Link’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised high as he stared at the two girls totally enveloped in their apparent love for each other. Sidon was guilty for this too; his jaw also dropped low, for he was completely stunned.

This was news to them.

Without turning to Sidon, the Hylian beside him asked, voice low, “did you know about this?”

“No,” Sidon said simply. “I had no clue.”

Even though it was very rude of them, the two of them continued to stare at the girls who broke away from the kiss to cradle each other’s faces. “I can’t believe that you’re alive… that you’re really here…” Zelda said, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she kept smiling brightly.

“Me neither,” Mipha sniffled as she started to cry, too. “I thought of you every single day, praying that there was somehow a way to get back to you.” The Zora girl brought Zelda’s face closer to hers so that their foreheads touched and they were able to gaze into each other’s eyes. “I love you, Zelda.”

“I love you, too, Mipha.” Zelda said, tears trailing down her cheeks before she held Mipha closer for another kiss. They held onto each other tightly, embracing as if they were the only people in the whole world… which they certainly weren’t, as Link and Sidon were very much still there, and very much in awe of this development.

“What the fuck.” Link, whose face was still stuck in that dumb expression, muttered underneath his breath.

And while normally Sidon would scold Link for using such crude language, he honestly had to agree. ‘What the fuck’ indeed. Who would have ever thought that the two princesses were in love? Clearly not Link, definitely not Sidon, and obviously not all the Zora guards that held the same face that Link did as they looked at each other in shock. While this display of affection between the two girls was very sweet and adorable, it was the last thing anyone had ever expected.

Eventually, Zelda took notice of all the onlookers and ripped herself away from Mipha, who looked saddened for a moment before she noticed all the eyes on them too and let go of her partner and stood up straight. The both of them flushed red, probably embarrassed beyond belief at showing such intimacy with each other in public.

Mipha looked towards the nearest guard and sputtered, “could you please take Princess Zelda’s horse to the stables for her?”

The guard nodded slowly, eyes still a bit wide, before bowing slightly to the princess and making his way to the stallion to lead him to the stables.

After the guard passed them, Mipha and Zelda exchanged nervous glances before awkwardly smiling at Link and Sidon while walking closer to them. Zelda twirled the side pieces of her hair anxiously, her cheeks still bright and rosey. “Um, nice to see you again, Sidon.” Her jade eyes flicked to Link as she added, “and you, too, Link.”

Link’s mouth finally closed and his eyes that had been wide open started to go back to normal again. He crossed his legs and rested his elbow on his knee to hold his head. “Yeah, it’s nice to see you again.” Sidon was shocked to hear a tinge of contempt in his voice that was just barely noticeable; he really wished that Link could make an effort to be more friendly with his old friend. Though, he didn’t fully know the situation so he couldn’t exactly judge.

Even so, to make up for his fiancé’s rudeness, he stood up and gave the Hylian princess a massive, warm, welcoming smile. “Yes, It’s wonderful to see you again! Thank you so much for accepting my invitation to come and visit!”

Zelda returned the warm look. “Of course. I dropped everything to race over here as fast as I could to see Mipha again.” Her hand reached out to grab Mipha’s and the Zora princess jumped at the sudden touch and she turned red all over again.

“I, ah.” Sidon began and then coughed into his fist. “I had no idea that you two were… together.”

Mipha avoided her brother’s eyes, totally flustered, so Zelda took initiative for the response. “Yes, we kept it very quiet before everything happened, and I never really wanted to talk about it because thinking about her was too painful.” She held onto the Zora girl’s hand tighter as she looked over at her. “But she’s actually here now.” Her voice trailed off blissfully and Mipha looked up at her from under her brow to give a little adoring smile.

Link rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, getting ready to groan, before Sidon elbowed him in the rib just in time to get him to stop before he was about to be even more rude.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Zelda’s eyes suddenly fluttered open wider, and her grin followed suit. “I have wonderful news! Amazing, extraordinary, delightful news!” She spoke while looking to Mipha and then tossed her head to the others.

Link’s face started to light up slightly at this, though Sidon was the one to ask, “What is it?” Zelda was one to over exaggerate when it came to exciting news, but something told him that this was no exageration. Her eyes were shining too brightly for this to be about some rare flower she found or how she caught a frog of a species she hadn’t studied before.

“On my way here, I found out that…” While Zelda paused for effect, Mipha looked up at her with twinkling eyes, full of anticipation. “...the other Champions have been resurrected, too! Not just Mipha!”

Link’s head slowly lifted from his hand and his eyes got very large. While Sidon had expected him to look excited, there was a weird fear in them that he couldn’t quite place. “What?” Link asked under his breath.

“You mean…” Mipha murmured. “Urbosa… Daruk… and Revali are back, too?”

Zelda violently nodded, a childish smile of excitement still plastered on her face.

“Wow, that really _is_ wonderful!” Sidon chimed in. “Something told me that the others would come back, too. How exciting...I would be able to actually meet the other Champions!” He felt himself start to blabber on, so he stopped himself to look down at Link, who still looked a bit dazed over the news. Sidon put his hand on his shoulder to shake him out of it. “Aren’t you overjoyed? You and all your companions can reunite after an entire century!”

But Link didn’t budge. He continued to silently stare at nothing while he was lost in thought about something that was a complete mystery to Sidon.

What was he thinking?

“Oh, I know!” Zelda abruptly exclaimed. “Sidon, do you think it would be alright if I stayed here for a few days and the other Champions could come visit, as well?”

“Yes, I’m sure that would be alright- amazing in fact! I’m certain my father would love to have the others as guests. I’ll go talk to him about it. You should also go visit him, because I’m sure he would love to see you.”

“Great!” Zelda cheered, overjoyed at the thought of having everyone together again. “We’ll go visit him. Oh, and we should write letters to send to the others, too!” She peered down at Mipha, who looked just excited as she was.

“Go on ahead! I’ll follow you in a moment.” Sidon said and watched the two girls run off the throne room. When they were gone, he turned back to Link who was still blank. “Link, are you okay? You haven’t said anything for a while. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Link said nothing, but gave a sign that he heard Sidon by furrowing his brows deeply and biting his lip. Something was _definitely_ worrying him and Sidon couldn’t just sit around and wait for Link to tell him what was wrong. He had to help him.

Sidon gently grabbed onto Link’s arm and said softly, “If there’s something wrong, you know you can always talk to me-”

But Link violently ripped his arm out of Sidon’s grasp and snapped, “Gods, don’t be so pushy, Sidon! I’m fine, alright?!”

“But, I-”  
“I’m fine!” Link finally lifted his head to meet Sidon’s eyes, but he wished he hadn’t. The sapphire blue that was usually so beautiful was dark like a storm, full of a something that Sidon didn’t understand and that therefore frightened him. When Link saw how he upset he made Sidon with his outburst, the storm in his eyes settled and they fell to the ground. He held himself and said quietly, “I’m sorry. I just really need to be alone right now.” Link gripped onto his own arms tighter and held himself closer. “I… I need to think. I’m sorry.”

Seeing Link like this only made Sidon want to hold him and comfort him until all of his troubles melted away, but he knew that it would only fan the flames of whatever was blazing inside of Link. Sidon didn’t want to step back and have Link face everything alone, but he would always snap at him when he tried to help. Knowing that he was always unable to help made him feel pathetic- what was the point of being with someone if you were too useless to ever help them?

Why did Link always push him away like this?

The Zora’s prince’s face fell and he choked, “Whatever you want. I’ll be in the throne room if you need me.” And so he turned away, leaving a distraught Link by himself on the bench.

  
  
  
  


R E V A L I

  


_Whatever it takes_

_'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_

_I do whatever it takes_

_'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains_

  
  


It turned out that the hut Revali was stuck in bed in was actually Kaneli’s. At first, he paid it no mind, however he quickly found out that the old man snores in his sleep.

Loudly.

Very, very loudly.

So, frankly, he wasn’t able to sleep much thanks to the loud snoring that shook the entire hut. Revali had even tried covered his ears with the pillow, but those bellowing snores still managed to keep him awake. He couldn’t exactly be mad though, considering that he probably wouldn’t have been sleeping anyway. There were way too many things to think about. Like, the question of whether or not the other Champions were alive like he was?

How different was Hyrule now?

Where was Link?

Should he leave and find out those answers for himself, or stay here in Rito Village where he belonged?

Luckily, Kaneli left early in the morning for some sort of Elder business or whatever, leaving Revali to himself. He was able to sleep finally, though it was in short spurts rather than a constant slumber.

Every time he woke up, he could see Kass sitting next to him, sometimes playing his accordion and sometimes not. Revali would try to have a short conversation with him, but his drowsiness would always take hold of him in a matter of minutes and he would fall asleep once again. It didn’t exactly help that Kass’ music was so pretty and soothing; it was terribly easy to be lulled to sleep by the lovely notes of the accordion.

 

Eventually though, Revali woke up and felt more awake than ever. After sitting up, he twisted his head to look outside the hut and saw that the sun was past its highest point and just starting to fall.

“Well, good morning,” a low, friendly voice spoke next to him, making Revali look over. Of course it was Kass smiling at him, but he was eating something out of a wooden container in his lap. With some more observation, Revali noticed there was a matching closed container next to him as well.

He hadn’t even realize how hungry he was until he saw the unopened wooden box, which, presumably had food in it for him, and his stomach suddenly growled embarrassingly loud. Feeling a bit embarrassed, the corners of his beak tightened.

Kass chuckled and grabbed the other box as well as a fork and handed it to Revali. “Here you are.”

Revali was a bit ashamed of how quickly he grabbed the container and tore off its top. Inside was a section with a heaping pile of Hylian rice, a section of vegetable curry, a couple of seafood rice balls, and a fish pie on the side. It didn’t last long though, because he scarfed it all down in a matter of seconds.

Kass chuckled again. “I’m sorry. If I knew you were that hungry, I would have woken you up.”

Revali tried to swallow so he would be able to speak, but there was too much food in his mouth so it got caught in his throat when he tried to swallow. He coughed and then beat at his chest to help it go down. “Thank you.” He looked away, a bit ashamed, as he handed the box back to Kass.

“You’re very welcome,” Kass said and put the box next to him. “My wife, Amali, made it.” The light blue Rito went back to eating his own meal that was still unfinished.

“Oh. Well, your wife is a very good cook.”

“She would be so delighted to hear you say that. And while I do agree, I’m surprised you were even able to taste it considering how fast you ate it all.”

Revali’s beak tightened again. “Um.” He felt some rice grains stuck on his beak and nervously brushed them off. “I… didn’t really.”

Kass laughed again, warmer than before, and made Revali jerk. “No, no, no! Don’t be ashamed. Amali would be very honored that you enjoyed it as much as you did.”

Revali said nothing as he rubbed at the corners of his beak to get any remaining curry off.

 

The two aves talked for a while as Kass ate; Revali was a bit surprised that a Rito as large as him ate his food so slowly and delicately, like he was enjoying every single spoonful of the food his wife made for him.

After Kass finished eating, Revali cracked his neck and stretched out his wings. “Alright, time to go prove that fool wrong.” He wiggled out from underneath the covers and towards the side of the bed to slowly bring his legs out to touch the floor, readying himself to stand up.

Kass sat up from his seat after putting his empty box aside. “Pardon me, Revali sir, but didn’t Unathi tell you to wait until evening at the very least? You really should rest more…”  
“Bah!” Revali waved his wing, dismissing the notion of him resting any more than he already had. “Judging by the sky, it’s around 4 o'clock, yes? That’s evening enough!” Without even testing the waters, he hopped onto his feet only to stumble around like a newborn fawn. Thankfully he caught himself before he fell to the floor. “Haha. I haven’t quite gotten used to these again yet.”

Kass, who was already on his feet ready to catch the Champion if he fell, smiled and shook his head. “How about we just go for a walk and you can decide how you feel then?”

The corners of Revali’s beak curled down into a slight frown, as he was offended that his new companion couldn’t just trust them on this. “Oh, alright. If it’ll make you feel better.”

Revali’s steps were sloppy, and try as he might, his legs had a tendency to buckle, but not enough to make him collapse. Stumbling, he walked through the doorway with Kass following him close behind. And so, together they left the hut and Revali went out into the world for what felt like the first time.

 

As they walked, Kass stood right beside him at the ready in case Revali’s footing failed and he needed help. Together they walked down the road and bridges made of wood and Revali, after a hundred years of being stuck up on that stupid machine, could finally see the vast changes of his old home.

Rito Village back before the Calamity was alive, day and night, and its streets were always full of hustle and bustle. Merchants called out to the many passersby to try to sell their wares, musicians played loudly for all to hear with their audiences never failing to break into song or dance together, and children’s laughter was always heard nearby while they played with one another.

But now it was so quiet and empty. While the village’s activity irritated him before, Revali now grieved over the loss of the village that was here just over a century ago. Rito Village was a quiet little place now with not many buildings or many inhabitants at all, and while that was charming for some, it still felt like a ghost town to him. Seeing his old home like this reminded him of how terrible the Calamity was and how hard it hit his people.

It was depressing.

That aside, Revali _did_ in fact enjoy all the stares he got and the hushed whispers that the villagers exchanged with each other. He could just barely hear them converse above him and debate whether or not it was really him and if he could even perform the updraft like the stories said. Some even talked about how _handsome_ he was.

He certainly liked that. Especially after going an entire _century_ without _any_ compliments.

But, sadly, it ended when Unathi noticed the both of them when she was talking to someone, perhaps a patient considering the broken wing, and then excused herself to rush over to them. Her face scrunched up into a sort of annoyed expression, and when she got to them she stood directly in front of Revali. Her weird close proximity to him made Revali irritated and a bit uncomfortable, but then he was able to look over her shoulder and noticed Teba directly across from them. He was probably ordering around the younger warriors he was yammering off to while his son stood in his shadow. Unathi was trying to shield him from Teba’s view.

Her voice was hushed, but still sharp and cross. “I can tell just by looking at you that you are not fit to fly, much less try to perform some wild trick!” Unathi squinted her beady eyes at him. “I _implore_ you to go back to the Elder’s hut and rest some more. There’s no shame in that.”

“She really is right.” Kass agreed, his voice quiet so as not to be noticed by Teba. “You still seem very-”

He was abruptly interrupted by a chorus of high pitched screams and squeals coming from an approaching quintet of tiny little girls. Each of them were a brilliant bright color and their small voices were ear-piercing as they screeched, “Dad! Dad! Dad!”

Kass’ face immediately contorted into one of panic. “Girls, girls- please hush.” He tried desperately to hush the children, bringing a finger to the end of his beak to shush them, but they ignored him and continued to screech at their father and at the Champion beside him.

“Dad, is that really Champion Revali?”

“Of course it’s really Champion Revali, Cree! Why would daddy lie to us?”

“Daddy, is Revali just like the old songs said?”

“Revali, sir, how fast can you fly exactly?”

“How many arrows can you shoot at once? Three? Five? _Twelve?”_

“I bet it’s twelve. It’s twelve, isn’t it?”

“That doesn’t even make _sense._ How could he hold twelve arrows at once, you big goof?”

“Is the updraft magic or something? Or are you just that good at flying?”

“Could you teach me it? Could you?!”

“Yeah! Me, too! Me, too!”

Revali was grinning over getting so much attention so instantaneously and was about to answer their questions when Unathi cut him off by snapping, “By the gods! You little deviants are so loud!”

Kass apologized profusely to Revali while he was trying to calm them down, but it was no use. Their mouths had opened and refused to close. The girls’ squealing only got louder and louder as they dug up more questions to fling around, regardless of how much their father begged them to cease with their loud pestering. “Please, my little chickadees… calm yourselves.” He tried desperately to drag them away from Revali, asking, “Where is your mother?” over and over. However, the girls were like soap and slipped out of his hands and they only responded to his question with more giggles and screeches.

“Hey, Dad! Look! It’s Champion Revali!” A little boys’ voice suddenly rang from close by. The three adults peered over to see Teba’s son looking over at them, pointing his finger at Revali with a big grin on his face. The other children’s ear-splitting twitters and chirps had probably caught his attention; it would have been impossible for them not to have.

The warriors that Teba had been talking to whipped their heads around to look at Revali, their faces full of awe at the famous archer’s presence. Teba, however, slowly turned his head to show off one of the darkest scowls that the world had ever seen; his eyes already blazing with fury at Revali.

Hylia, that old guy’s face would get stuck like that if he kept making that stupid glare.

Unathi heavily sighed and Kass muttered an “oh dear” under his breath, because the both of them knew, even though they had met Revali only the day before, it was all over when Revali and Teba made eye contact. Now there certainly was no way to get Revali to take the rest he needed in order to gain his strength.

Revali side stepped around Unathi so that Teba and him could see each other. He curled his wings into fists and held them on his hips as he shouted out to the white Rito, “Hey! Stop staring at me, Te-bastard! No one likes an ugly mug like yours staring for too long!”

Unathi groaned and the five girls started to giggle while Kass could only tighten his beak into an awkward expression.

Surprisingly, Teba was able to keep his cool after he took a deep, raspy breath.  His scowl warmed into an ugly smile as he opened his beak. “Alright, fu-” he started before his eyes quickly flicked to his son next to him and he changed his vulgar word choice. “... pal. Are you ready to show everyone here your ‘updraft’?” He used his fingers as quotations for ‘updraft’, making his son look up at him with furrowed brows.

“Dad, you can’t talk to the Champion like that.”

“Tulin, we’ve been over this.” Teba said quietly through a clenched jaw that barely managed to hold his smile. “He is _not_ Champion Revali.”

Revali shrugged his shoulders, dismissed the father-son exchange and returned the shiteating grin as he said, “Sure, but only if I’m allowed to warm up. A hundred years without flying has made me a bit rusty, you know.”

Teba’s ugly smile came back and he shrugged. “Do what you need to do then.” He looked over at one of the younger soldiers beside him, a yellow and grey lean bean of a Rito with a pudgy face, whose beak was agape still at seeing Revali right there in front of him. Teba shot him a grimace, making the poor boy jump, ruffle his feathers, and stand up straight and still.

Revali made eye contact with Teba again to smirk, and started to walk to the end of the landing.

As soon as he reached the edge, a harsh wind blew upwards from down below, tossing around his braids and feathers. It felt like the wind was calling out to him after all these years, begging him to fly so that they could be together at last.

Revali didn’t expect this much emotion to surge through him at having the chance to fly again after all these years. It was so strong that he felt like he couldn’t breath- that he couldn’t move.

But he had to. And not because he had to prove that dumb old guy wrong, but because he _needed_ to be in the sky again. So he stepped forward to grip his talons onto the edge and take in the wonderful feeling of the wind blowing through his feathers.

He could feel so many pairs of eyes on him then, which reminded him that he couldn’t just stand there feeling the air forever. With eyes shut tightly, he stayed still for just a moment before he hopped off of the landing without opening his wings at all.

Revali heard Kass gasp and rush to the edge of the landing, and while it made Revali a bit happy that Kass was that worried for him, he was a bit offended that he had thought so little of him. As _if_ he would be that stupid to just hop off like that and fall into the water below.

No, instead, Revali waited for the perfect moment to spread out his wings for the first time in forever so that he could catch an uplifting air current and shoot high into the air.

Being flung into the air was the most blissful feeling he had felt in a literal century. This was where he belonged- where he could really truly be himself. The pain brought on by his weak body was definitely there, but it was far far away thanks to the magnificent feeling that finally being in the sky brought him.

He felt like a fledgling again; he laughed with glee as he twisted and turned around in the air, riding the wind higher and higher and then diving straight down again to feel the nostalgic rush of adrenaline coursing through him.

This? This was pure ecstasy.

But after several minutes of playing with the wind and its currents as he had done so long ago, he figured it was high time to return to the landing and see Teba’s face before it was time to perform his updraft.

While he was flying back, he noticed that a crowd had gathered to watch him, making him smile to himself even more. He landed in the center of it, Ritos stumbling away to make room for him as his beating wings caused their hair and feathers to be tossed around wildly.

As soon as he landed, he threw his head at Teba who was trying not to look stunned at his stupendous flying skills. “Well, what do you think?”

Teba squinted and shook his head to shake off his amazement of Revali’s flying. His usual scowl came back, and he growled, “It’s fine, I guess. But it isn’t any updraft, now, is it?”

“Oh! Patience, my dear Teba,” Revali said. “It was just a warm up. I didn’t expect you to be so excited to see my updraft.” He turned back around to crouch, readying his famous move.

He spun around his wings, summoning the thin Tabantha winds to twirl around him, causing startled Rito to stumble backwards, their hair and feathers being tossed around in the wind again. The whirlwind created by his wings and his Hylia-given gift began to form high into the sky about him, but before he jumped into it to be shot high into the air like an arrow, he looked over his shoulder at Teba.

Revali made eye contact with the white avian that wore a flabbergasted expression, and smirked wide. “Watch this, ‘pal’,” he said mockingly and winked at him. Then he gave his wings a hard flap to jump into the air, and the whirlwind he created catapulted him into the sky.

Even though every bone in his body still ached from his awakening, he stayed in the eye of the whirlwind and rode it up higher and higher, letting it twirl him around gracefully. The current carried him to where all the Ritos watching him were just specks before it ended, and he let out another cackle at the utter bliss that using his updraft for the first time in so long gave him.

As soon as he reached the end, he flew straight down to gain speed, and then circled around the massive rock that held the village before he flew to the landing to land on his feet in front of the large crowd that had gathered and cross his arms. The edges of his beak curled into the smuggest smug face he could produce. “Well, Teba? Am I still making a parody of the Great Champion Revali?”

Revali saw Teba in the middle of the crowd, gawking and beak hung open like an idiot. Teba tried to say something, but only stutters and stammers fell out before he was pushed around by the Ritos behind him that rushed forward to join the others who began to surround Revali. The crowd flowed around him, shouting out wonderstruck exclamations and wonderful compliments. A few squeals from women over how amazing he was were heard as well.

He had really missed this.

He tried to answer some questions and thanked them all for their compliments as much as he could, but he was much more focused on relishing in his victory and his audience’s flattery. That’s why it had taken a moment to notice Teba walking towards him, parting the sea of Revali’s newfound adoring fans.

Once they were standing face to face with each other, the white avian’s beak still hanging open and his eyes still very large, he croaked out, “I’m sorry.” He stared blankly at Revali for a beat too long before he flung himself downward onto a knee for a low bow. “I’m so sorry.”

Revali’s smirk grew at this delightful apology.

“I’m sorry that I thought you were a fraud.” Teba apologized, his voice that sounded so accusing before sounded respectful now. “You’ve been my idol my entire life; since I was a fledgling I’ve been working hard to at least become half as amazing as you are.” He hung his head, staring at the ground in shame. “That’s why the thought that someone could be trying to make a parody of you made me so unreasonably upset. I never would have thought that you would have-”

“I understand,” Revali interrupted, still smiling slyly. “Like I said yesterday, I wouldn’t have believed me either.”

Teba continued to kneel in silence, hesitant to say his next words until he blurted out, “Please, Champion Revali. Please make me your disciple.” His yellow eyes, which some people may be inclined to compare to electricity but Revali found much more fitting to compare to piss, rose back up to meet Revali’s. “Please teach me.”

A few warriors in the crowd looked at each other; some looked surprised and some snickered at seeing the one that bossed them around mercissily so vulnerable and submissive, pleading for Revali to be his teacher. It was like Teba didn’t hear them at all, because he kept staring up at him with that pathetically hopeful look.

Wow.

Revali could get used to this.

He was definitely going to say yes, but not without leaving Teba hanging for a few moments. He put a finger underneath his beak, as if he was deep in thought, considering whether or not he had the time to teach or if Teba was even worthy. But really, he was just enjoying this a little bit too much.

It must’ve been twenty seconds before he finally said, “Yes, I will teach you.” Revali tried his best to speak with the most proud and elite voice he could produce. “But don’t think I’ll go easy on you. The lessons will be very demanding and very gruelling.” The navy Rito, all eyes on him, leaned down to Teba, rose his eyebrows and almost whispered, “Do you think you’re up for it?”

Teba stared up at him before he could nod. “Yes, sir. I’ll do anything it takes.”

Revali’s smirk returned as he replied, “Good. We’ll talk about this later.”

With that, Teba stood back up, still bowing slightly, and said, “Thank you sir.” He rose and turned around to see all the eyes that were on him and looked almost embarrassed for a second, but then he noticed some younger warrior snickering at him and his entire demeanor changed. “What are you staring at?!” Teba shouted at them, and their beaks instantly snapped shut. “Don’t you have something better to do?!”

“Sorry, Teba!” they squawked in unison and scrambled away at an attempt to escape their boss’ wrath, who was parting the sea of onlookers once more as he left in a huff. Whether it was because he actually had something to do or if he was just that embarrassed that everyone was staring at him, Revali wasn’t sure.

Either way, he was glad that the interruption was over because now he could go back to being complimented and being fawned over. It was so nostalgic to be surrounded like this, drowning in adoration.

At least, he _was_ for a second before he was interrupted.

Again.

“Well, I-” he started to answer a question about his updraft, but he stopped when he heard an approaching little voice from inside the crowd speak.

“Excuse me! Pardon me. Oops, sorry.” Whoever the voice belonged to was trying to get past everyone to get to Revali, but, judging by the fact that Revali couldn’t see head nor tails of the one intruding on this beautiful moment, they were very small. “Excuse me. Sorry, did I step on your foot? My bad!” After some time though, Revali was able to see a burgundy hat drifting through the crowd.

A Rito that moved over a bit to let the little Rito through muttered, “Ugh. It’s the puny cuckoo bird.”

Revali watched as the owner of the hat drew every nearer, a frown on his face. Couldn’t him and his new admirers be left alone already? Didn’t he at least deserve _that_ much after a hundred years?

Eventually, however, a short Rito revealed herself after squeezing in between two Rito in the front of the group who refused to budge for her. Revali had expected a child, but it was a teenager or maybe even an adult that happened to be the shortest Rito he had ever seen. She was wearing a uniform that was the same color as her hat with bronze buttons and trim, which violently clashed with her baby blue and mint colored feathers.  Her hair was tied up in a braid so tight that it flicked upwards and she had a messenger bag slung over her shoulder and a letter in her hand.

“Champion Revali!” She shouted and then stepped forward to stand in front of Revali; she was so short that he had to look _down_ to meet her eyes. That was a nice change of pace after always being the one who had to look up. “Special delivery from Princess Zelda.” The little ave announced before handing over the letter she was holding.

Ah, so this little person was a mail carrier then? Strange. Revali didn’t remember ever seeing that uniform before. Did Hyrule get a new postal service while he was away? Or-

Wait.

_Princess Zelda?_

He snatched the letter from the green avian’s wing perhaps a bit rudely and looked at it to find that the envelope was sealed with a wax stamp of the Zora’s royal family crest. So, Zelda was in Zora’s Domain then. Could that mean that…

No. He couldn’t get his hopes up like that.

He was just ripping open the envelope to take out the letter when the freakishly short girl took off her hat to reveal a wild tuft of feathers, perhaps to show her respect for Revali, and said, “I would have delivered it sooner, but your performance-”

“It was a _demonstration,”_ Revali corrected her as he was retrieving the letter from its envelope. “Not a _performance.”_

“Right! Of course!” She smiled nervously, completely flustered.

He gave her a raised eyebrow before starting to read the letter in his hands.

  


_Dear Revali,_

 

_I have recently heard the news about you, as well as everyone else, and I cannot even begin to tell you how overjoyed I am! I didn’t even think it possible, but now it looks like we can all reunite after our long century apart. I’m with Mipha right now in Zora’s Domain writing to you, excited to see you, Urbosa and Daruk in the upcoming future._

 

So he was right then- the other Champions had been revived, too, and she was with Mipha, which explained the seal. His breath caught in his throat when he was able to process that everyone now was alive again and there was a chance they could go back to those wonderful times he had reminisced on Vah Medoh.He kept reading then, his hands tightly gripping on to the letter.

 

_I’ve gotten permission by King Dorephan and Prince Sidon, Mipha’s brother, to invite you, Urbosa and Daruk to come to Zora’s Domain for us to have a reunion and celebrate your resurrections. I know that you don’t particularly enjoy parties, but don’t worry. It will be small and personal, as only the six of us along with King Dorephan and Prince Sidon will be attending._

 

‘The six of us?’ So that had to include Link then?

Revali gripped the letter tighter, thinking of the potential of seeing Link again, even if he acted like a stranger a year ago when they last met briefly. Revali would tell him everything and maybe they could be together the way they were meant to! He had to try. He _had_ to.

 

_I truly hope you are able to come, but from what Mipha has told me, you’re probably in a lot of pain. So, if you cannot come as soon as possible, write a letter back and we can all decide on a date for when you’ll feel better enough to join Mipha, Link and I._

 

Was this princess delusional? It didn’t matter how much pain he was in- he _had_ to come as soon as possible. Even if his wings and legs were shattered to bits, he would come. He would crawl all the way to Zora’s Domain if he had to.

 

_I’m thrilled that I'll be able see you and the others again. I hope that I will see you very soon._

 

_Sincerely,_

_Princess Zelda._

  


Revali was trying to hold back a massive smile at the chance to see everyone again, to see _Link_ again, before he noticed an addition at the bottom of the letter.

 

_P.S_

 

 _Link had to go into the shrine of resurrection due to severe injuries he sustained during the Calamity and has forgotten most of us and our_ _relationships_ _. Please_ _Revali, be careful._

 

Well, that was unsettling. What was that even supposed to mean? He knew that it should be explaining much more than it was to Revali, but you could never have described him as the most attentive person. He turned the paper around hoping to find an explanation on the other side, but it was completely blank.

When he was done with the letter, he folded it back up to put into the envelope again and noticed that the crowd that had once surrounded him dispersed and that the little mail carrier was the only one still standing in front of him. He would liked to have thought that they all had left to respectfully leave him to reading the letter, but that might not have been the case.

The remainder of the crowd from before fidgeted with her bag’s strap nervously and Revali shot her an irritated look she didn’t really deserve. “One more thing, sir...”   
“What?”

“I just wanted to let you know that…” The green avian’s eyes fell and she looked off to the side. She went quiet, perhaps regretting saying anything and debating whether or not to go on with what she was about to say.

“Well, go on with it,” Revali said shortly.

The small ave’s eyes flicked all over the place and her feathers fluffed up so much that she looked like a little cotton ball. Clearly, she must have gotten too nervous to say whatever she had been planning to say, because she slapped her hat back on her head, grabbed the strap of her bag, bowed and trilled, “Nothing! Nevermind! I’m sorry for disturbing you!” And just like that, before Revali could stop her, she scampered away.

He raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

Well, that was odd.

 

After she disappeared, he looked back down at the envelope he still held in his hand. Striding over to the edge of the landing, he opened the envelope to read the letter again and rested his wings on the wooden handrails.

He still couldn’t properly process the idea that everyone else had been resurrected as well and they all could could finally be together like they had been before the Calamity. It was the most amazing news, yet he wasn’t sure if he was ready for it.

He wasn’t sure if he was ready to see Link again. What would he even say to him? What _could_ he even say to him? If he really did forget a lot of their relationships… what does it mean for _them?_ Could he have forgotten him…?

He forced himself to steel up his emotions. Why the hell was _‘Please Revali, be careful’_ added?

Suddenly a soft voice came from beside him. “That’s the letter that Princess Zelda sent you, yes?” Revali looked beside him to see Kass walking towards him, a warm smile as always plastered on his face. “Ah, and sorry that I disappeared. I had to take care of my daughters.” He rubbed his neck as he added, "After you landed, they were getting ready to pounce on you and ask a thousand questions again. Then you would've never been able to escape."  
The navy Rito let out a small laugh, shook his head and looked back to the letter. "No worries."

Kass copied Revali by resting his wings on the handrail as well and leaned forward to look over at Revali. “Apologies if it’s a bit personal, but what does the letter say?"

The Champion scrunched his face in, eyes still stuck on the letter and scanning it over for the hundredth time. “The others have been resurrected, too, and she invited me for a reunion in Zora’s Domain.”

The larger Rito raised his eyebrows and the edges of his beak followed suit. “Oh! I had a feeling that you couldn’t have been the only one. That’s amazing!” He nearly shouted in glee, though when he saw that Revali lacked any kind of smile or hint for being excited, his brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

Revali rested one of his elbows up on the rail to hold his face. “I know I should be excited, but I don’t think I’m ready. Even after more than a hundred years, I’m not sure if I’m ready to see everyone again.” He thought of Link and the way he blankly stared at Revali up on Vah Medoh. “I guess you could say that I have loose ties with someone.”

“I see,” the light blue avian said and looked off into the distance. “Are you afraid?”

“Me? Afraid?” Revali laughed and threw his head to look over at Kass who was giving him a soft but knowing look. The Champion looked away after meeting eyes with him. The smile brought on by his laughter faded and was replaced by another very scrunched up face. Something told him he couldn’t hide from Kass, even though they were still essentially strangers. “I guess you can say that.”

“Well,” The older ave started, gazing back out onto the horizon. “Do you think you’ll ever really be ready?”

“No. I suppose not.” Revali let out a huge sigh and put the letter back into the envelope. He followed Kass' gaze silently for a couple of moments, studying the hills and cliffs in the distance. “I might as well leave tomorrow.”

“Are you sure? It’s a long ways away and you’re still not in very good shape.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. If I somehow managed to make the updraft today, then I can manage the trip tomorrow.”

 Kass side eyed him, not looking convinced. “If you really do think so, you should probably go rest now then.”

“You’re right. Today took a lot out of me.” Revali took his arms off the rails and stood back up while chuckling.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. That just made me sound so old.”

“Well, you are, what, at least one hundred and twenty?”

Revali laughed. “Yeah, I guess I _am_ literally a hundred and twenty-one years old.” A yawn cut off his laughter. “See? The sun has barely set and I’m about ready to fall over.”

“Granted, you _were_ bedridden up until this afternoon. Go ahead and go rest now.”

The navy Rito yawned again and stepped away from the wooden railing. “I will, I will.” He started to walk away, passing Kass and making his way up to Kaneli's hut. “Goodnight, Kass.”

“Goodnight.” Kass said warmly to Revali and then looked back towards the hills in the distance, watching the setting sun paint them with brilliant warm colors.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: Harth is looking at Teba like ¬ v ¬ after Revali does the updraft. i woulda written it in but there wasn't enough room djkgakjs
> 
> Also, I made a playlist for most of the songs that will appear in the fic because I felt like it. If you're interested, you can see it [here. ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1250010586/playlist/0ucWSmnAqNn3zce15Spe4e)
> 
> Annnnnnnnnd I'm gonna promo my [ botw server ](http://nyainou.tumblr.com/post/176270038226/the-breath-of-the-wild-rp-discord-server-for) again because I can!!! Come join us!! We would love to have you!!! 
> 
> and here's my [ tumblr ](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/) ):3c


	4. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link finally confides into Sidon over what's going on in his head.  
> All of the Champions arrive at Zora's Domain, overjoyed to see each other, but it quickly changes when they see Link. What had been a blissful reunion moments ago suddenly becomes a nightmare for Revali when he sees the one he had loved long ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hrkkkk honestly i had this one so close to being done for a while, but life is reaaaally interesting and kept me from finishing it off jdghsjkdghkjds sorry about that  
> i feel really icky about this chapter,,, i'm not happy with it at allllll djfhsjdgjksda it doeSN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. You can totally tell where I bullshited my way through and where I actually knew what I was doing
> 
> the lyrics for Revali's first part is from Smile Like You Mean It by the Killers, Link's is from Poison by Cavetown, and the last part has lyrics from 132340 by BTS (i don't actually listen to any of their music at all- an animator i like made an animation to that song and i was just "OH!!!" lmao)

* * *

 

 

 

 

R E V A L I

 

_Looking back at sunsets on the East side_

_We lost track of the time_

_Dreams aren't what they used to be_

_Some things sat by so carelessly_

 

“While I appreciate the sentiment, Kass, I’m sure I won’t need all of this,” Revali said while he tried to stuff all the miscellaneous items Kass gave him into the bag that Kaneli let him borrow. “You do know that it isn’t that long of a trip, right?”

Kass chuckled as he watched the smaller navy Rito struggle to put everything in the bag. Kaneli, who was rocking in his chair in the corner, hooted, “Honestly, it’s quite funny that you’re forcing so many things on him, Kass. Are you not the one that always goes on about the importance of traveling lightly?”

“Well, yes, but,” Kass started. “This is Champion Revali! I wouldn’t want him to get hurt or be inconvenienced at any time, so I want to make sure that he has everything he could possibly need if a problem should arise.”

“Yeah, because I’m sure that I’m going to be needing this,” Revali said as took out a grappling hook of all things and raised his eyebrows at Kass. "You do know I can fly, right?"

The aquamarine ave smiled and shrugged. “You never know.”

The Elder continued to rock in his chair, smiling over at Revali while he said, “I know that I have said this already, but I cannot even begin to tell you how astounding this news is. I still haven’t been able to properly process that you and all the Champions are alive.” He looked up at the ceiling as if reminiscing about the old days. “I remember that when I was young, we would always hear stories about you and your companions and how strong of a bond you all had. The idea of having you all together just as you were before the Calamity is…” Kaneli trailed off, putting a finger to his chin to think of the right words. “Both hauntingly nostalgic and wonderful.”

Revali was somehow able to shove most of the junk Kass gave him in the bag, but he was struggling to close it. “You’re telling me. After a hundred years of being apart from everyone, the very idea of seeing them is...very…” It took an annoying amount of effort to close the bag, but he miraculously was able to close it with the button clasp with great effort. “...strange.” He studied the bag for a moment, wondering if this stupid thing would weigh him down in his flight. He looked from the overflowing bag to Kass, making sure it was clear that he was displeased. As much as Revali wanted to dump out all of the useless junk that Kass gave him, he foresaw Kass forcing it all back on him and describing each and every scenario where he could need on the many items in the bag. He figured it wasn't worth the effort, and plus, he didn't want to offend Kass for some reason.

“I don’t blame you,” Kaneli said, stopping his rocking chair to lean forward towards Revali. “Seeing someone after a few years is odd enough. I can’t imagine seeing someone after a _hundred_ years.”

Revali only meekly nodded in response, his eyes still on the bag on the ground in front of him.

Kass put a hand on his shoulder and asked, “are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, I’m alright.” Revali picked up the bag, which thankfully was lighter than he thought, and put it on his lap. “Everything has been moving so fast. I woke up only two days ago, yet so much has happened.”

“You can stay here longer you know. You could rest and process everything until you’re ready. It might even be a better idea if you stayed; I’m not sure if you’re fully healed yet,” Kass remarked, taking his hand off of the navy avian as he softly peered down at him.

“No,” Revali said simply, getting up off the ground with the strap of the bag in his hand. “It’s fine.”

The old Rito began his rocking once more, smiling over at Kass. “No need to worry, Kass. Our Champion is resilient. He’ll be fine.” Kaneli’s eyes went to Revali and quickly flicked back to Kass as he ever so quietly said out of the edge of his beak, “plus, he’s much too stubborn.”

Revali figured he wasn’t supposed to hear that last part, and while it offended him, he couldn’t exactly deny it. So he just clenched his jaw slightly and uttered, “thanks, Kaneli” while he put on the bag that the elder Rito let him borrow. “I think I’ll be leaving now. I won’t be too long. I’ll be back in a couple of days or so?”

“No, no! Take all the time you need.” Kaneli waved his hand, assuring the younger ave that it was fine. “This is very important. There’s no need to hurry back.”

Revali shrugged as he continued out of the hut, Kass trailing behind him. “If you say so. I’ll see you when I get back then.”

“Safe travels, Champion Revali, and goodbye, Kass,” Kaneli said, giving the other two his farewell.

“Have a good day, Elder,” Kass smiled behind him, following Revali outside of the hut,

Once they were out, Revali turned to the taller Rito. “You don’t have to walk me, Kass.” While Revali did enjoy Kass’ company because of his easy-going and sweet personality, it irked him a bit that Kass was always there, making sure he was okay. Didn’t he have anything better to do than to follow him around?

“It’s no trouble. I was going this way anyway.”

Revali blinked up and him and muttered, "Ah."

Of course he was.

 

The two Rito were walking along the streets, Revali looking around and studying the new Rito Village again, but he almost jumped a foot in the air when Teba suddenly stumbled out of nowhere to bow and blurt out, “good morning, Master Revali.”

Revali got ahold of himself after being startled and held the most unamused face he could muster as he tried to look unphased, though the tiniest of smiles crinkled the edges of his beak as he kept walking.

‘Master Revali’, huh? Revali liked the sound of that.

“Today, I thought we could-,” Teba continued before he noticed the bag hung off of the Champion’s shoulder and the fact that he and Kass were just turning towards one of the landings. “Oh...Are you going somewhere?”

“Yup,” the navy Rito said flatly, not even bothering to look at Teba while he answered.

“Wh...Where are you going?”

Revali rolled his eyes and let out a short scoff before shifting his eyes over to eye Teba, starting to get annoyed of him following him to ask questions instead of just buzzing off. “There’s a reunion with the other Champions at Zora’s Domain that I’m going to be attending.”

Teba looked blankly at Revali for a beat. “I see.” Then he coughed before saying, “I, ah, I could accompany you there if you’d like, Master Revali.”

The Champion regarded the pleading look in the white Rito’s piss eyes. It was the same look that he had the evening before where he practically _begged_ Revali to take him on as his pupil in front of the entire village.

He desperately wanted to come with him; that was clear.

Revali turned his head away to look ahead of him and kept walking. “Nah.”

Teba slumped just barely, obviously disappointed by his answer. He gulped loud enough that Revali could hear and he clicked his beak due to nerves. “Oh, alright. I’m sorry to bother you then. Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks, Teba,” Revali said as he passed the warrior. He noticed from the corner of his eye Kass turning his head to give Teba a sympathetic smile, who gave him a scowl in response before he turned around on his heels to leave.

After the warrior was gone, Kass spoke up. “Teba seems to have really taken a liking to you.”

Revali glared at nothing and let out a _tch._ “That piss-eyed bastard? Eh, whatever.”

The bard furrowed his eyebrows upward and softly chuckled. “Don’t be so cruel to him. Afterall, he looks up to you and you _did_ technically make him your pupil.”

“I guess,” Revali shrugged. “Though it's not like I could say no. The whole village was watching and I'm sure he would have demanded it even if I said no.”

Kass hummed thoughtfully and nodded. "I suppose you're right." He chuckled again.

 

They quickly found themselves at the edge of a wooden landing that branched off the street, and the two of them stopped to look out at the mountains in the distance that glowed brightly thanks to the rising sun's rays. Revali took in a deep breath, the crisp Tabantha air chilly in his lungs.

As he viewed the horizon that stretched out before him for a few silent moments, he wondered and pondered over everything that awaited him out there. He wondered about what could go wrong after he left. Pondered over what could go right.

At least from on Vah Medoh he could see Rito Village throughout the last century, but who’s to say how the rest of the world changed? For all he knew, the Calamity left the outside world in total shambles and there was nothing out there but neverending wilderness taking over the ruins of destroyed civilizations.

Then, of course, there was the anxiety that was like a pit in his stomach; an unexplainable uneasiness that came with the concept of seeing his old comrades and...Link.

 _“This is it,”_ he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and hung his head.

“Thank you, Kass,” Revali said after he turned to the avian beside him who was simply gazing out at the landscape.

“Whatever for?” Kass asked without looking back at Revali, but with a sweet smile on his beak.

“I don’t know. I guess for looking out for me, but still treating me like a normal person even when you knew who I really was. For not being too starstruck to talk to me unlike how everyone else here seems to be.” Revali shook his head, saying, “Sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying. I just felt like I should thank you before I left.”

“No, it’s alright. I understand.” Kass cocked his head down towards Revali, his smile growing brighter. “You’re welcome.”

The both of them gazed back out at the mountains quietly for a minute, then Revali let out a hard sigh that released only a fraction of the tension building up inside him. “I’ll be on my way now.” He stepped to the very edge of the landing, feeling the wind rustle through his feathers. The sensation gave him a rush. This was actually happening. “Goodbye, Kass.”

“Goodbye, Revali. Be safe.”

The Champion nodded before hopping off the ledge and opening his wings, letting a gust of air from down below carry him up higher into the sky. It sent him off on his way across Hyrule to Zora’s Domain to see his old friends for the first time in over a century, along with a certain Hylian whose smile haunted him for so many sunrises and sunsets.

 

L I N K

 

_There’s ghosts in my house_

_And I can taste blood in my mouth_

_Don’t be afraid, I’m not insane_

_Just irrational, but isn’t that the same?_

 

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Link flatly said as he slipped on his old Champion tunic. He really wish he didn’t have to wear it; just looking at the tunic made him feel sick, but Sidon had somehow convinced him to wear it anyway. He had said it would only make sense considering he was meeting with the other Champions who were probably wearing their own garb.

“Why not?” Sidon asked accusingly. Link could feel Sidon staring down at his back while he was getting dressed facing away from him.

Link still kept his back to the Zora prince as he grabbed his trousers with a huff. “Because, Sidon, I just don’t. Is that okay with you?”

“No!” Sidon rose his voice at him and stepped closer. “It isn’t ‘okay’ with me. I want to understand what you’re going through so I can help you. Don’t you want my help?” When Link only replied with a deep frown as he stepped into his trousers, Sidon continued to pester him. “I just want to understand why you shut down when we found out that the other Champions are alive. Why aren’t you happy? Why aren’t you excited to see them? What’s wrong?”

The real question was why Sidon couldn’t just leave it and stop bothering him over things he didn’t want to deal with. Why was he always so pushy? Link loved him, but couldn’t he just take a hint?

Link furrowed his brows and his frown deepened even more while he bent down to grab his boots off the floor next to the bed. He remained silent, refusing to answer Sidon’s questions.

The Zora prince sighed deeply and Link could see him from the corner of his eye cross his arms and turn around to look out the window that was letting in the afternoon sun’s light. “I see the way you look at my sister and it worries me. I remember her telling me about you when I was little. It was clear from the way she smiled when she talked about you that you were so important to her and that you two had a wonderful friendship. And...seeing you being so distant and cold to her is hard enough for me, so I can’t imagine how it must feel like for her...to lose a friend like that and still not getting him back even when finally being reunited after a hundred years.”

_Oh, boo-fucking-hoo._

Again, Link remained quiet, and his refusal to speak only made Sidon more agitated to the point where he was getting physically frustrated. His hands were balled into fists, and his face was contorted into an ugly look. “It worries me, Link. The way you sulk and shut off just like that. I know that I could help you sort out your feelings or fix any problems that you may have if you would just _talk_ to me. Don’t you trust me?”

Link had slipped on one boot when Sidon asked that last question and was going to put the other one on but he stopped. He gripped the second boot tightly in his hands and he finally spoke; he started off quiet, but he quickly got louder and his voice cracked. “Of course I trust you, Sidon! I _love_ you! I just- I just don’t want to talk to you about this.”

“Why?!”

“I don’t know!” Link shouted. His voice grew so loud in his distress that it boomed, but his own volume startled him into going quiet and talking in more of a whisper. “I...I don’t know. I just don’t know _anything_ about _anything_ and it’s making me go crazy.” He brought his hand to his face and laughed a sort of maniacal laughter. “So many things are going on in my head and I don’t think I can even put them into words. It makes me tired just thinking of trying to communicate what it is that’s going on. Especially since I don’t know _why_ I feel like this anyway.”

Sidon relaxed; his balled up fists opened and he no longer looked upset. He strode over to Link to sit next to him on the bed and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

He must’ve been proud of himself that he made Link confide into him like this.

“I’m just not ready.”

“What are you not ready for?” Sidon asked, again intruding on Link’s privacy and leaning closer to him.

“To see them again!” Link blurted, his angry tone returning. “I...I thought I was free from this...I thought I was safe!”

“Safe from what?”

Gods, Link wished Sidon would just stop asking so many questions.

“I don’t know! I guess that after everything was over, after I defeated Ganon and ‘saved’ all the Champions’ souls or whatever, I thought I was safe from all of this. I thought it didn’t matter anymore that I barely had any memories from before everything. I thought that I could leave what I barely remembered behind me and use it as a chance to start a new life as far away from it as possible. I thought I could be someone else and pretend like it never happened and just be done with it.” Words flowed through Link’s mouth, and it felt like some of them weren’t even his. He didn’t really change into a totally different person, had he? He never really wanted to _pretend_ like it all never happened, did he? He just didn’t want to try to put the effort in to understand the past before, right?

“And so having them suddenly come back to gods damn life, which may I add, doesn’t make a lick of sense, is the worst. Because I feel like I have to deal with all these issues, some that I don’t remember and some that I do, that I ignored for so long. I don’t remember these people, Sidon. And I don’t think I _want_ to. It’s just all so confusing and I know that I’m just going to have to start from scratch with them like I had to with Zelda. And you know how that turned out.” Link scoffed and shook his head. He went totally silent for a moment before he finally looked up at Sidon and  grabbed his arm. “I just wanted to be with you forever and not have to deal with anything anymore. It feels like our perfect life together is shattering all around me and I just...I don’t know.”

Sidon turned his chest to face Link and he grabbed his hands and held them in his. His golden eyes softly looked down at him, making his heart flutter. “But it isn’t. Nothing is falling apart.” The Zora brought one of his hands to the side of Link's face and brushed his cheek softly with his thumb. “Thank you for telling me, Link, but you have no reason to be afraid. I’ll be here with you and help if you ever need it.”

The Hylian looked up at his fiance for a moment, his blue eyes twinkling before his gaze shifted away. “Thank you. I’m sorry for pushing you away and lashing out at you, but….” Link said, his voice low and quiet. He clenched his eyelids tightly and turned his head away, his breath quivering for a moment before he brought a hand to his face to squeeze his nose bridge, eyebrows furrowed so tightly that his forehead wrinkled. “It’s just…” It felt like the turmoil that Sidon had temporarily settled started to bubble up inside of him again, ready to explode. “I hate not remembering anything! It’s all just so confusing and scary! And people expect all these things from me when I’m already trying my best to fix _myself.”_ Link’s voice rose again as he brought his hand away from his face to look at his shaking hands. “I feel like everyone around me knows me so much better than I know myself and that _terrifies_ me. I’m just so scared all the time.” He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and looked up at Sidon to softly say, “But when I’m with you, I’m not so scared anymore.”

Sidon’s worried expression softened into a smile. “Link…” he murmured as he rose a hand to caress the side of Link’s face again. They spent another moment gazing into one another’s eyes before Sidon made the mistake of asking, “what is it that scares you so much?”

The Hylian’s calm expression turned into one of furious distress one more and when he opened his mouth to yell, the Zora jumped and took his hand away from Link’s cheek. “Don’t you _get_ it, Sidon?! I don’t know! I don’t _fucking_ know why I’m so scared! I don’t know anything, and I’m just totally in the dark about everything.” He heaved in a few breaths before he started going off on another tangent, staring at his hands that were curled like talons. “I don’t know why I feel so gods damn shitty around Zelda. I don’t know why I can’t look Mipha in her stupid eyes. I don’t know why I feel so _guilty_ all the time. I don’t know who Link even is! Who the hell is he?!” Link gripped onto his knees so tightly that his fingernails dug into his trousers, nearly piercing the skin underneath. He stared at his lap, his eyes burning. “And I don’t know why the thought of seeing them all again is so horrifying! Especially seeing _Revali!”_

The Zora prince watched Link go off, his face riddled with concern. It was clear he didn’t really know what to do for his love, though he made the ignorant decision to ask, “Revali? The Rito Champion? But, why him?” under his breath, though it probably was more to himself than to the tormented man beside him.

“I don’t know, but it’s haunting me…” Link faltered, covering his face with shaky hands and feeling foreign tears stinging his eyelids. “It’s like I still remember the emotions, but without the actual memories. I’m just not ready for this and I don’t think I ever will be.”

Sidon was about to hold Link and comfort him when a guard knocked three times on the door and opened it after the prince allowed him to come in. The Zora guard’s eyes flicked to Link, his lips tightening slightly before he looked back at his prince to flatly say, “Your Highness, the other Champions have arrived.”

The man that had fought the literal embodiment of malice and darkness’ hands grew clammy, and he started to tremble. As the guard turned to leave after a thank you from Sidon, Link looked up at his fiance with wide, terrified eyes.

He wasn’t ready.

And like he had said, he probably was never going to be.

 

R E V A LI

 

_I still revolve around you_

_I missed you, I lost you_

_I’m running idly_

_You erased me, you forgot me_

 

Revali hated Zora’s Domain.

The whole place was way too wet, and wet wasn’t good for his feathers. Not to mention that the Domain was way too fancy and elaborate with its stupid Luminous Stone walls and streets and its stupid jewel encrusted architecture. It always made it seem like the Zoras were just a bunch of stuck-up show offs with all their stupid fancy pancy junk.

The Rito had arrived there in the late afternoon, his face creasing into one of a sort of disgust as he saw that nothing had changed and they were still the same vain fish people they had always been. He had landed in front of the ornate bridge that lead to Zora’s Domain and started to walk across, looking around at his surroundings. He observed the vaguely familiar architecture of the Zora kingdom and admired the gorgeous waterfalls around the Domain that fell from the surrounding cliffs and into the body of water below.

From what he could recall, Zora’s Domain was still very much the same as it was before the Calamity, and after seeing how his home was completely different because of it, he couldn’t help but be angry that the Zora didn’t lose as much as his people had.

 

Revali was slowly making his way down the bridge, lost in thought as he studied the area around him, when he heard two familiar voices. He turned his head to look down the bridge to see two girls barreling towards him at an alarming speed shouting his name. “Revali!”

He squawked, fearing for his life at seeing Mipha and Zelda running towards him without stopping and he readied himself for impact. The Zora and Hylian girls ran into him with such force that almost knocked him off of his feet, and frankly it was a miracle that they didn’t topple him over. “Oh my _gods!”_ he choked out, left breathless by the sudden attack.

Mipha and Zelda both screamed, “Revali!” again, totally overcome with glee over seeing one of their old companions again. “It’s really you!” Their tiny little arms squeezed around him, making it hard to breathe.

“As...much...as I...am happy...to see you both…” Revali struggled to say in between raspy breaths. “I would...appreciate it...if you stopped...killing...me…”

“Oh! Sorry, Revali,” Zelda said, finally realizing that the two of them were crushing the poor ave. Neither of them let go of him, but their grip did loosen so that he could actually inhale some air. “We’re just so happy to see you.” The Hylian princess looked up at him to reveal that tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

Revali jerked at seeing the tears and nervously smiled down at her. “Hey, now, princess. Don’t cry.” Awkwardly, he brought a hand to her back to pat it before hugging them both back. “I’m so glad to see you two, too.” He quickly regretted saying that, because after he did, Mipha and Zelda both held onto him tighter again and nuzzled into him. With a sigh, he allowed them to rudely intrude on his personal space and he held them closer.

Never in a thousand years would he have let someone pop his personal bubble such as they were doing then, but he had to make an exception. Actually seeing Zelda and Mipha really put into perspective that this was really happening; that everyone was really alive and well and that they could finally be reunited.

While he didn’t exactly show it, he really _was_ overjoyed seeing them and had never been this happy for what felt like forever. He missed the two girls’ innocent and bright smiles, Mipha’s sweetness and Zelda’s wonder and curiosity of the world. Just having them in his arms alone was more than he could ask for. It felt like things were starting to make sense after a century; Rito Village wasn’t where he belonged- it was with the closest friends he ever had.

There was nothing but the three of them for a few minutes, and though they said nothing, their tight embrace said it all. The only sound heard were the distant waterfalls, the soft pats that Revali gave Mipha and Zelda on their backs, and the tiny sniffles that both the girls let out.

That is, until suddenly, a pair of hands placed themselves on his shoulders, making him jolt again, and a voice Revali quickly recognized whispered right next to his ear. “Hello, Revali.”

Mipha and Zelda threw their heads up to see Urbosa standing right behind Revali and shouted out her name. “Urbosa!”

Just like that, Revali couldn’t breathe again, because Urbosa wrapped her arms around the three of them and squeezed, so he was trapped in between the three of them. “Hi, girls!” The Gerudo woman chimed like she wasn’t aiding in the manslaughter of the Rito Champion.

It got even worse though when two massive hands grabbed all four of them and they were hoisted up off the ground and into a familiar Goron’s strong arms. A loud, bellowing voice cried out, “Hey, everybody!”

Revali, again, squawked out in alarm at being constricted even _more,_ but Zelda and Mipha once again cheered for the arrival of yet another Champion and giggled at being picked and swung around by the Goron. Urbosa laughed, but less over Daruk and more over Revali’s screeching and wiggling to try and escape. “Is this supposed to be a reunion or is it my scheduled _murder?!”_ He gravelly shrieked, again at a loss for breath.

“Oh, ha. Sorry, Revali. I guess I did get pretty carried away,” Daruk said before dropping the smaller Champions back onto the ground for Revali to dramatically hack and cough. “I just can’t believe this is actually happening. I’ve missed you guys so much.”

The three women latched onto Daruk again for a hug, the two girls trying to wrap their arms around him in an embrace while Urbosa side hugged him. “We missed you, too, Daruk,” Zelda chuckled and Mipha nodded in agreement.

Mipha broke off to rub Revali’s back who was having a coughing fit that perhaps wasn’t completely genuine and Urbosa patted Daruk’s arm to say, “glad to see you haven’t changed, Daruk.”

“Haha, thanks, Urbosa,” the Goron chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “It’s great to see that you stayed the same too, even after so long and after what we’ve been through.” He smiled down at the others as he added, “it’s a relief that we _all_ are still the same as we were before, huh?”

The Rito nodded in agreement along with the other three.

Revali watched thoughtfully as Urbosa crouched in front of Mipha and Zelda to cradle their faces and coo some motherly nonsense to them. That's when Daruk whacked his back hard out of nowhere, scaring the living daylights out of him and making him hack all over again. “It’s just so good to see you, bird boy!” Daruk bellowed.

A long time ago, Revali would have whipped around and snapped at Daruk, but honestly, it was just so extraordinary having everything be the same as it was before, despite the sting the massive hand left. Having Daruk still not be fully aware of how much stronger and larger he was than the others to the point where he wasn’t in full control of his strength was so nostalgic. After seeing how different Rito Village and most of Hyrule was now and how next to no one he knew in his old life was still alive, being together with everyone and having them be the same before the Calamity was just so…. _heart-warming._ It made him look forward to everything going back to the way it was with them before the Calamity tore them apart. The whole world may be different now, but at least they had each other.

Revali rubbed his back that stung from Daruk’s strike and smiled while looking up at the Goron. “It’s been a hundred years and you still insist on calling me that?”

Daruk looked down at the Rito, his lips spread out into a joyful grin all too familiar to Revali. “Well, yeah! You’re a bird and also a boy, ain’t you?”

The avian looked up with his smile growing, happy that it already felt like not even a year had gone by. “...It’s good to see you, too, Daruk.”

 

After they had gotten over the marvel of being in each other’s presence once again, they started to make their way towards Zora’s Domain. They stayed so close to each other that their arms still touched. Urbosa even held the two smaller girls close to her as they walked, her arms slung over each of their shoulders. Perhaps feeling the others brush against them was enough to prove that this was no dream. That they were really together.

So, they made their way to the bridge, asking each other if they went through the same thing for their revival and asking what happened afterward.

They all had the same, if not eerily similar, memory of the woman in white that they had met somewhere that could have been heaven. And while they talked more, they had realized that they all woke up on the same day, maybe even within the same hour. Their connection to one another definitely was strong, but...being resurrected and waking at the exact same moment...well, the idea of it was insane, yet at that point, it still seemed plausible.

They each told their own stories of their awakening, starting with Mipha. The Zora princess told the other four about how a mother and her daughter had found her collapsed in front of Vah Ruta when they were going there to leave an offering for the late Champion. She explained how everyone was so overjoyed to see their princess again and that it was nothing short of overwhelming how much attention and how many gifts her subjects have given her.

Daruk said that a small group of mountain climbers searching for a special ore found him on Death Mountain’s summit next to Vah Rudania. He went on to say that while nobody from before the Calamity was alive, the Gorons there had all instantly recognized them and welcomed him back home with open arms and even a spontaneous feast in his honor.

Revali truthfully was jealous at how those two were instantly welcomed home and were given all sorts of gifts, considering that only a select few had believed he was really the Rito Champion at first. And even after he proved himself, most of the Rito at the village stayed away in fear of disturbing him. He told the others of how a bard named Kass found him, and aside from the Elder, he was the only one that treated him with actual respect.

He went on about how he had to prove to some meathead that he was the actual Revali, the utter scorn in his eyes and face making the others chuckle.

Then it was Urbosa’s turn to explain her time since her revival. She actually had been found by treasure hunters at the base of her Divine Beast, and just like Daruk, while nobody from before the Calamity was alive, the Gerudo all instantly believed her when she said who she was after she woke up and welcomed her back into her home of Gerudo Town. She did add, however, that as soon as she woke up, Riju, the current chief of the Gerudo, had told her that Link was in Zora’s Domain. So, even though she wasn’t in the best of shape, as soon as she could just barely pull herself on a horse, she found herself a steed and galloped towards the Domain, and miraculously crossed paths with Daruk on the way there, who told her the news of the others and about the reunion. That had certainly explained how quickly she had gotten to the Domain, considering that she was so far away but didn’t have any means of quick transportation like Revali did.

But, when the realization that Link was already here hit him, his heart nearly lurched out of his chest. He wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to see the one he was head over heels for a century ago and the one that broke his heart a year prior.

He gulped as they got closer to the entrance.

 

When they finally reached Zora’s Domain's entrance, Revali’s heart was beating fast but went even faster when someone close by spoke when they passed through. “Um. Hello, everyone.”

That voice...it had strung something up inside of Revali and it made him feel a wave of emotions he hadn’t felt in some time.

All five of them looked to the left to find the source of the voice. Zelda and Mipha didn’t seem phased like the other three, but Urbosa and Daruk looked shocked to see who had greeted them.

But Revali wasn’t just shocked.

There was Link standing there, their missing companion, looking up at them with a sheepish smile. With some close observation, Revali noticed that his eyes were just noticeably red.

Zelda stepped closer towards Revali to put a hand on his wing as if to comfort him for what was to come.

Did...Did Link just... _talk…?_

Urbosa and Revali were both speechless, so Daruk was the one to speak. “L...Little guy? Is that you?” The Goron’s voice that was usually so loud and orotund became quiet and strangled.

“Yeah,” the Hylian said, his smile widening as he nodded his head. “It’s me. I can’t believe you guys are actually here.”

Revali couldn’t breathe again, and this time it wasn't because he was being strangled, but because hearing that voice again, _here,_ sent feelings through him that clung to his throat.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Zelda glance up towards him and it was apparent that she saw what he was feeling, because she gently squeezed his arm.

“I’ve...ah...I’ve lost a lot of my memories because of what had happened, as you probably know, but still, I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. Even if it’s like meeting you all for the first time,” Link said and nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Revali clenched his jaw so tightly that it felt like his beak was going to crack.

He knew that Link had forgotten everything and that he had changed for whatever reason.

He knew that.

He expected that.

But that wasn’t what made all the muscles in his body flex or what made him clench his fists firmly.

No. It was his _voice._

He was speaking with that wonderful voice of his like it was nothing. _Nothing!_

That voice that was so special-the voice that Link had kept secret from the world and only shared with Revali because that’s just how much he had loved him- he was using it for _everyone_ to hear like it didn’t matter at all.

That voice was supposed to be for them and them alone, and now he was just giving it to everyone like it had never meant anything.

That was supposed to be for Revali.

That was his.

That was his voice.

Only his.

Link raised his right hand to Daruk for him to shake, and when he did, his left hand moved just enough so that the ring on his finger caught the light, making Revali notice it even while rage was making him see red. Judging from the color, it was a ring crafted from luminous stones, and it was worn on his ring finger.

_What the…_

“It’s nice to see you again- Daruk, right?” Link smiled up at the Goron as he offered his hand for a handshake.

Daruk’s face shifted from one of confused shock to one of joy, though Revali could see that the smile on his face was fake. Anyone who knew Daruk well enough could see that he was still shocked to hear Link and pained that he didn’t totally remember him, but wanted to act like everything was okay so as not to make Link more uncomfortable than he clearly was already.

The Goron took his tiny little Hylian hand and shook it, along with the rest of Link’s little body. “I’m glad you still got my name right! I’m so happy to see you again, little guy!”

The Link they all knew from before would have laughed as he was swung up and down, but instead, he only looked very frightened and concerned for his safety. Daruk quickly ended their handshake though and looked slightly ashamed for having scared Link with the roughness that he found endearing and fun before.

Urbosa also wore a smile that, from what Revali could tell, was strained as she looked down at him. Link met her eyes and his smile returned as he held his hand out to her. “Ur...Urbosa?”

The Gerudo took his hand in hers and gave him a polite and firm handshake as if she was meeting someone new for the first time. She arrided at him painfully and friendly said, “yes, it’s good to see you again.”

They let go of each other’s hands, and so it was Revali’s turn to meet eyes with the stupid fake Hylian that stood before them.

Those sapphire eyes that he had fallen in love with more than a century ago went to his, and yet they had looked so different- just as he had remembered they were when they met on Vah Medoh a year ago.

There wasn't the shine that made his heart skip a beat. Only a dark emptiness that he didn't recognize.

Link held out a hand to Revali, and it felt like everything inside of him shattered when he opened his mouth to say to him...to say to the person he had loved once upon a time...to the only person he ever let hear his angelic voice before it all....”Hey, it’s Revali, right?” like he really had no recollection of anything that had ever been between them and like Revali didn’t matter now to him at all.

There was this strange mixture of rage, grief, and uselessness that become one awful intense emotion that Revali could feel setting in the bottom of his stomach. The typhoon of emotions inside of him was too large for his body, making him feel like he was ready to burst, yet, at the same time, he felt like he was going to be swept away. His head spun, it felt like he was going to throw up, and he swore that his blood was actually boiling.

Where was _his_ Link?

What did this counterfeit one do to him?

As this was going on inside of Revali, he was only staring intensely at the outstretched hand before he finally smacked it away and flicked his eyes up to Link to glare at him with emerald eyes that blazed bright with fury. “You think _I_ would want to shake _your_ disgusting hand?!” He shrieked, the words falling out before he could grab them and take them back. “You _vile_ little-”

“Revali!” Urbosa snapped at him, ripping him from his daze and bringing him back into reality. He quickly glanced up at her to see her eyes that somehow said, ‘we can talk about this later. For now, behave.’  Zelda, still holding onto his arm, squeezed onto him again, giving him just enough comfort he needed to bring himself back into his body and keep from having a pathetic tantrum. He would suck it up for now and have one later when he could properly grieve over the loss of the man he once loved.

The Rito huffed and his eyes went to the side. He tightened the edges of his beak and his eyes squinted into a distant scowl as he raised a hand to shake the one that was still held out to him. Touching Link’s hand felt like touching fire, but not for the same reasons that it felt that way a hundred years ago.

“Charmed,” he growled.

As soon as their handshake lasted the bare minimum, both of them ripped their hands away and Link held a slightly disturbed expression, though he was trying to keep it hidden with a nervous smile.

As they broke away, a voice that was totally unfamiliar to Revali called out to them. An extremely tall Zora the same color as Mipha suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere behind Link. “Ah! Hello, everyone! I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to welcome you to the Domain.” Revali already disliked this new character; his voice was loud and he was irritatingly exuberant. Even if he _wasn’t_ in the worst of moods like he was now, he still would have scrunched his face up with distaste.

But something about the presence of this new Zora perturbed him because when he came over, Zelda glanced up at him with a somewhat worried expression and squeezed on him again.

 _Please, Revali, be careful_ from the letter she had sent to him came to mind and he wondered if this man was what she had warned him about.

Why?

Revali looked over to notice that Link was more relaxed now that this stranger was here and he didn’t seem as nervous anymore.

“Oh, there you are,” Mipha softly exclaimed. “I was wondering where you were.”

“I’m sorry, something had come up,” the new arrival shamefully chuckled. “But I’m here now, and I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you all!”

Mipha stepped forward to face the other three Champions and gestured to the tall Zora. “Everyone, this is my younger brother, Sidon. Sidon, this is Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali.” Mipha gestured to the others as she told him their names respectively.

This Zora called Sidon bowed slightly, his face lighting up into a bright grin as he said politely, “it’s such a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Urbosa and Daruk’s face both lit up then, but Revali’s stuck in that faint look of disgust.

“Sidon, huh? I think I remember seeing you a few times back in the day,” Urbosa said, a smile slowly spreading across her lips. “Good to see you’ve grown up so much.”

Ah, so they must’ve met him at some point in the distant past then, not that Revali remembered ever seeing him. Why would he find enough relevance in some Zora twerp to remember him anyway?

“I know!” Mipha giggled. “Coming back to see my little brother so much bigger than me and even older than me was certainly staggering.”

“And you grew into such a handsome young man, too!” Urbosa winked up at Sidon.

“Oh!” Sidon exclaimed as he jumped a little and grinned at her, his cheeks flushing a tad. “Thank you, Miss Urbosa.”

“I bet you have plenty of people fallen heads over heels for you,” Urbosa added as she crossed her arms and grinned.

Zelda smiled a little as she said sort of quietly, “he _does_ have his own fan club.”

It took everything in Revali to not roll his eyes. Him? Have a fan club? Pathetic.

Daruk let out a hearty, rambunctious laugh and leaned towards Sidon to give him a nudge. “Oho! You must have a bunch of lovers then, huh? I bet you’re a heartbreaker with that face.”

Link, who had been quiet this whole time, looked up at Sidon who looked back down at him with a massive smile. The Zora wrapped his arm around Link and pulled him close, and beamed, “Well, actually…!”

Revali thought of the ring he had seen on Link’s finger a few moments ago, and noted the way the two of them instantly smirked at each other when Daruk mentioned ‘lovers’.

Link smiled at them all with the first genuine smile they had seen from him since they met him again. Sidon smiled even wider, his large, sharp teeth showing.

The gears in Revali's mind started to turn.

 

_No…_

_There’s no way..._

 

Zelda gripped tighter onto Revali and she quickly opened her mouth to say something, but just when her words started to come out, Sidon spoke louder, his voice singsong.

“Link and I are engaged!” The Zora cheered, grabbing Link’s left wrist for him to show off the faintly sparkling ring that adorned the fourth finger.

 

_What?_

_No_

_No No_

 

_No No No No No No_

 

It suddenly was too hard for him to breathe again.

His feathers rustled, though it was from something he could only describe as being rage even though that wasn’t quite what it was.

His head that he had just gotten control of spun again, swirling with a typhoon of emotion that he could barely hold down.

All he wanted to do was to get the hell out of there.

 

This was a mistake.

 

This was a mistake.

 

That was a mistake.

 

He shouldn’t have come.

 

He shouldn't have come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love teba and his piss eyes


	5. Misfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Urbosa drags Revali away from Link and Sidon after Sidon announces their engagement.  
> Sidon is slightly irked by Revali's behavior.  
> Sidon comforts Link when he riles himself up again.  
> Revali can't sleep and watches the sunrise with a visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that this took a lot longer than usual even though it's shorter than the updates have been so far! I was having a rough time writing for some reason and got kinda busy
> 
> also...!!! my absolutely tubular beta [nebulousroyalty](http://nebulousroyalty.tumblr.com/) is involved in a really cool thing!!! I know jackshit about Overwatch, but they're participating in a really sweet event in the McReyes community that's raising money to donate to charity for abused kids! For more information, go [ here! ](https://mcreyes4charity.tumblr.com/post/174150764926/mcreyes-charity-week>%20here!%20</a>%20And%20here%20is%20their%20<a%20href=)  
> The songs in this chapter are Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age, Favorite Color is Blue by Robert DeLong, Sleep by Flatsound, and Into the Ocean by Blue October

 

 

 

R E V A L I

  
  


_Most of what you see, my dear_

_Is worth letting go_

_Because not everything goes around_

_Comes back around, you know_

_One thing is clear_

_It’s all downhill from here_

  
  


“I can’t do this, Urbosa.”

“You can and you will,” the Gerudo woman said as she put her hands on Revali’s shoulders and looked down at him. Her forest green eyes harshly dug into him like the fingers she had dug into his shoulders that helped him stay grounded.

 

Minutes ago, they were standing in front of Link and Sidon who had just announced to the Champions that they were engaged.

After the Zora prince said those words, Revali was unable to move or even have a single coherent thought. All he could do was stand there and feel all the emotions coursing through him, taking away all of his senses.

Then he had felt the overwhelming urge to just up and fly right out of there so he wouldn’t have to deal with this nightmare. So he mindlessly muttered something to them that wasn’t even discenerable before he whipped around and readied his wings to fly away… to escape.

But Urbosa wouldn’t let him. Before he had a chance to finish his first flap, she grabbed his wing tightly and brought him back down to the ground. Revali looked up at her, his emerald eyes again blazing with fury as he croaked, “Urbosa, let me go.”

She squinted down at him, her eyes fixated on him with a look that was full of pity. Then she looked to the others, her lips that were tightened into a frown relaxing into a small smile. “Please excuse us,” she said before turning around, pulling along the Rito that she claimed as her hostage while Zelda proceeded to excuse herself as well and followed behind them.

For a minute he flapped around wildly, trying to escape like a cucco being taken to the slaughterhouse. He shrieked and then begged for Urbosa to just let him go, but his voice and incessant struggling faltered as she only ignored him and kept going. Revali knew it was no use, especially as his ferocity started to fade due to exhaustion and he fell into simple misery instead. His feet dragged as the Gerudo pulled him along and he didn’t struggle anymore.

It was a good thing that Zelda had decided to leave the others behind and follow them, because she knew the area more than Urbosa did. She quickly lead them away from prying eyes and ears and into the room she was staying in, which fortunately was on the first floor and not too far away.

As soon as they arrived, Zelda had thrown open the door to her room and closed it behind her after her and the other two entered.

 

“No, I can’t.”

Urbosa sighed and crossed her arms, but that understanding look in her eye didn’t go away. “Yes, you can, Revali. Stop acting like a child.”

“A _child?_ I am _not_ acting like a child.”

“I know that this must be very painful for you, but you have to control yourself.”

Revali stared at the ground, his eyes burning with the sensation of tears fighting their way out, but he stubbornly fought them back. He curled his wings into fists as his voice that had been hushed and broken rose. “I don’t think you actually get it, Urbosa,” he said, almost yelling.

He waited for Urbosa to say something, but she kept quiet, as if silently telling him to explain himself to her and Zelda. Honestly he didn’t want to, but still, he found himself opening his beak for an explanation to slip out after a few seconds of silence.

“Right when the Calamity began, when we were all leaving Lanayru Road to go to our Divine Beasts, Link and I… Link and I finally confessed to each other,” he wavered. His fists squeezed tighter and his eyes closed tightly.

Both Urbosa and Zelda’s faces fell and again they both said nothing, allowing Revali to continue.

“He promised that we would see each other again, but you both know what happened next.” The Rito’s beak crinkled into a frown. “I was waiting on Vah Medoh for a _hundred years…_ thinking of him every single damn day, hoping that he would fulfill his promise somehow and come. And he did, but, he didn’t remember me. He didn’t remember anything about us.” Revali shook his head, his braids flailing around in the air, and then he started laughing and opened his watery eyes to look at Urbosa. “And then, wouldn’t you know it! Somehow, we are all resurrected. And frankly, I didn’t even care to think of how that even happened; whether it was actually Hylia or whatever the hell, because I was too busy thinking ‘This is my chance. I could help him remember and we can finally be together like we should’ve been’. Only to find out that he…” He turned his head away, looking to the ground again as he let out a low chuckle and smiled a pained smile. “Th-that he…” Revali tried to finish his sentence, but could feel himself about to break, so instead he stopped and closed his eyes. With a gulp, he added, “Do you even know what that feels like?”

The air was thick with a heavy, agonizingly miserable silence. The Rito could feel the two women staring at him, probably pitying him and thinking about what a pathetic idiot he was. Thinking of how stupid he was for waiting on Link that long. Thinking about how ridiculous he was for being upset over something that had nothing to do with him anymore.

It went on like that for a moment too long before Revali whipped back around to look at the two of them, the emerald that went so dark with heartache now flashing with rage; his despair using anger as a cover like it always had. “And _you!”_ He screamed, jabbing a pointed finger at the Hylian princess who jolted at his sudden outburst. “ _‘Please, Revali, be careful’?!_ What in the hell was that?!” He stomped towards Zelda, making her take a few scared steps back. “Why didn’t you just flat out tell me that-”

The Hylian put her hands in front of her defensively, her lips quivering up into a nervous smile. “M-maybe it wasn’t the best decision on my part, alright? But I knew that if I told you everything, you wouldn’t have come and-” She looked directly into his eyes and saw all the emotion there, finally realizing the extent of his pain and how he was unraveling. How his world was crumbling around him without any warning. “I’m sorry, Revali! I’m so sorry! But you have to understand! You _needed_ to come-”

“No I didn’t! I didn’t _need_ to come. _You_ just wanted me to!” The ave jabbed his finger back at her again, taking another step closer to her so he was barely a foot away. But then he slumped out of his aggressive stance and his wing fell to his side. “I wish that I hadn’t. I wish that I stayed in Rito Village. I wish that…” He trailed off as he got quieter and he began to droop like a wilting flower, but he still kept eye contact with Zelda. “I wish that I just stayed dead…”

“Revali, stop.” Urbosa grabbed onto Revali’s shoulder and pulled him away from Zelda. “Don’t say things like that. Zelda was right not to outright tell you what happened. If she had told you in the letter when you were alone, you would have done something stupid and reckless. At least now we’re here for you.” She moved her hand to his face, lifting his head to look up at her. She was studying his face like she had over a century ago at Lake Kolomo when Revali had broken down in front of her. The eyes that were usually so sharp softened and her touch was gentle. “This must be so hard for you. But I promise that it will be alright.”

Revali turned his head away, breaking out of Urbosa’s gentle grasp. “I’m sorry I-” he started before taking a shaky breath. “This was supposed to be a happy reunion… we haven’t seen each other in literally a lifetime and I just had to ruin it-”

Urbosa interrupted him by putting her hand back on his face, though more forceful than before, and twisted his head to look at her again. “No. You have every right to be upset. You have no reason to apologize. This isn’t fair to you after everything that’s happened. But as unfair as it is, just remember that this isn’t anyone’s fault either. And-” She suddenly stopped talking when Revali let out a sniffle.

He hated this. He hated how weak and insignificant he felt. The storm that raged within him before left him dry and delicate, and all he wanted to do was cry and cry until there was nothing left in him anymore.

He felt pathetic. He felt ashamed. He felt… afraid.

Revali hated that everyone was only together for a few mere minutes before he, of course, had to ruin everything. Why did he always have to lose control so easily? Why couldn’t he of just stayed quiet, smile and nod, and bottle up the pain to open for a later time? Why were his emotions too big for him to handle?

Again, he tried to turn away to hide that his eyes were getting wetter. So wet that they started to leak tears that streaked down his navy feathers. Sobs were stuck in his throat and trying to escape but he wouldn’t let them. He couldn’t let them.

The Rito let out a little hiccup however, which made Urbosa wrap her arms around him and hold him close to her, just as she had at Lake Kolomo all those years ago. She put one hand on the back of his head, gently petting his feathers and she softly cooed to him, “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

His entire body started to shake from trying to keep in the sobs, but one was just too strong to hold back, and as soon as it broke free, more followed suit.

He was so _hurt._ Hurt in a way that he never thought was possible, and her strong arms holding him allowed him to let out not only everything he was feeling right then, but what he had been feeling for countless years.

It was almost crippling; it was almost too hard to stand with how strong his sobs were, and his sobs and hiccups didn’t give him enough time to breathe. He tightly gripped onto Urbosa, digging his fingers into her and squeezing with every cry.

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry,” Revali wailed.

He didn’t even know who he was apologizing to. Urbosa? Zelda? Link? Koni? Kezul? Did it even matter? Whoever he was crying to, he kept bawling those two words when he had just enough air to and he cried harder each time he said them.

After a minute, he felt another pair of arms wrap around him. Zelda held onto him and leaned her head into his chest as he sobbed. He could tell that she herself was trying not to cry along with him, considering her own sniffles. But despite that, she had managed to keep it inside so she could comfort him.

He never ever _ever_ wanted Zelda to see him this way, though in this moment he didn’t care and welcomed the comfort and warmth she gave him. He even took one of the arms he used to cling onto Urbosa off to wrap around her as well so he could embrace them both as he released everything that was building up inside him for so long.

 

They were like that for a while and after a couple of minutes, his sobs and cries became lighter and calmer so he could actually breathe.

“If you tell anyone about this, I will actually kill you,” Revali uttered in between hiccuping breaths.

Urbosa softly chuckled. “Of course, Revali.”

“Don’t worry,” Zelda added, also giggling slightly.

  
  
  
  


S I D O N

  


_And I'm feeling like everyone's feeling alone_

_I'm just looking for something to soften the blow_

_A second inside of the truth_

  
  
  


Sidon was usually very accepting and understanding of others and always made sure to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. His neverending compassion and love for others was one of his best traits and something that those around him appreciated. In fact, one of the most important things to him was making sure that everyone around him felt welcomed and safe, and he strove to carry that out.

Though, there was something about this Revali character that… seriously _perturbed_ him.

They were having dinner, a feast if you will, for the return of the Champions. There was only him, King Dorephan, Zelda, Link and the other Champions in the entire dining hall. An array of foods from across Hyrule were served, as well as some of Hyrule’s finest liquor. The hall was full of laughter and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves to some extent- everyone except for Revali, the Rito Champion.

Even though he was surrounded by his friends and should’ve been beyond happy and joyful, he was very quiet. And not quiet in the way that one is shy or hesitant to speak, but rather the kind of quiet where you can just _see_ the gloominess in the air around them that’s keeping them from participating. His friends had tried to make them join in their conversations and laughter, but he would just regard them with his eyes, give a small sideways smile and then continue staring at and playing with his food. Dorephan even tried to include Revali by asking him questions, but he would merely give him a simple answer and continue with his sulking.

That alone though wasn’t what bothered Sidon. He figured that perhaps he was feeling uncomfortable or the Calamity was on his mind. What bothered Sidon were the few instances where the Rito Champion’s green eyes flicked up just a moment to look up at Sidon or Link. When he was able to catch Revali looking up at him before the emerald quickly flicked back down to the plate, he was able to see what were in those eyes of green.

Half of the time they looked sad. Miserably sad. So sad that Revali’s eyes looked like green pools of water that were a second away from overflowing. They were so full of pain.

The other half of the time they looked angry. They were horrifyingly angry to the point that even though Revali’s eyes were so very clearly green, Sidon could swear they flashed and blazed with an ugly crimson.

He had no clue why the Rito looked at him that way.

Then there was the mystery of why he had reacted that way after he announced the wonderful news of his and Link’s engagement. Why did he look so monstrous with fury then? Why did he immediately try to leave?

Obviously there was a good reason for his behavior. There had to be. That’s why he tried not to think ill of Revali, even if he _was_ a bit offended over that reaction.

Perhaps he should’ve made an effort to talk to him- to make him feel more at ease so he could actually enjoy the celebration with everyone else. Maybe he should’ve took him aside to ask what was wrong and see if there was any way he could help.

But something told him he shouldn’t.

So, he didn’t.

He only acted like he didn’t notice instead.

  
  
  
  
  


L I N K

  
  


_I lose control of my heart_

_I can’t keep up without losing my breath_

_It’s been this way from the start_

_I need rest_

  
  
  


“I told you, Sidon! They hate me!”

“Calm down, Link. They don’t hate you. Nobody hates you,” Sidon said softly, trying to calm down his fiancé. But Link continued to pace around their bedroom, staring at his fumbling hands.

They had only just gotten back from the dining hall, but Link immediately started to freak out as soon as he entered their room. He had bottled up every little thing he had felt in the last few hours and didn’t want to wait another _second_ before he opened it up and let all of his emotions spill out. He didn’t think he could last any longer.

 _“Yes_ they do!” Link attempted to shout, but it came out more like a squeak. “Did you even see the way they looked at me? The way they treated me?” He continued to pace in a circle, almost in a daze, but Sidon stepped in front of his path and grabbed his shoulders, stopping him in his place.

“Love, what are you talking about?” Sidon asked.

Link swallowed and then looked up at the Zora. “When I first said ‘hi’ to them, it was the same as it was with Mipha,” he said, though when Sidon cocked his head and squinted at him puzzled, he continued. “She looked at me as if something was wrong. Really really wrong. I thought that maybe she was… _jealous_ or something, but then everyone else had looked the same way! And Revali was so _angry.”_ He brought his hands to his face as he talked even louder. “Then it was worse when you brought up our engagement. Everything fell apart; Revali freaked out for whatever reason, Urbosa and Zelda dragged him away and… I don’t know. I’m supposed to feel happy, but now I feel so _awful.”_ As he was slowly taking his hands off of his face, his mouth and throat suddenly felt so dry, so he licked his lips and swallowed before taking a short breath and went on. “Th-Then there was dinner. I didn’t understand half of the things they were talking about and I… I...” Link started to get choked up, his words turning into incoherent babbles.

He knew that this wasn’t going to turn out well. He _knew_ it.

Everyone hated him. He could just tell by the way they looked at him.

And Link knew that Revali wasn’t exactly the nicest person and didn’t have a sliver of politeness or compassion in his body, but it hurt him when Revali slapped his hand away and spat at him. It hurt even worse when he had turned around to try and leave after Sidon announced their engagement.

And as soon as Link said ‘hello’ as nicely as he could, despite the fact that he was _terrified,_ Urbosa and Daruk looked bewildered, but Revali…

Revali looked like he was going to cry.

Of course, Link was nervous and confused about Urbosa and Daruk’s reactions and was sad that he couldn’t join in on their and Mipha’s conversations at dinner, but Revali’s unwillingness to talk with the others and overall gloominess seriously unsettled Link. He even thought that he saw Revali glaring up at him, but it was probably just him overreacting. 

He hated this. This was the worst.

Why did they have to come back and ruin everything? Everything was so perfect and then-

Out of nowhere, Sidon grabbed both of Link’s hands in his own and interrupted him. “Hey, hey! Link, my love, it’ll work out.” Link looked up at him, eyes wide. “Something that nobody had _ever_ expected to happen happened! So much has changed in the last few days alone. Everyone is just very confused and all over the place, which is understandable considering they were just resurrected after a hundred years.” Sidon gave Link a tender smile, his face shining brightly. “And yes, they probably aren’t used to the way you are now if you really _did_ change.” He let go of one of Link’s hands to softly put it on the side of his face, gently brushing his cheek with his thumb. “But they’ll come around and see how amazing you are. I know they will. They’ll come to love you just as I had.” The corners of the Hylian’s mouth started to shake into a smile, his eyes getting watery.

“And our wedding day is in just a couple of months!” Sidon went on. “By then, you’ll all be close friends once again and they can share that very special moment with us!” He brought his other hand to the other side of Link’s face, moving it closer towards him as his smile grew even brighter. “Just you wait! Everything will be okay- no, _more_ than okay. Everything will be _wonderful._ I promise. So, don’t worry.”

Link closed his eyes and his smile grew even brighter, too. “Thank you, Sidon. I’m sorry for being so-”

“No,” Sidon interrupted again, leaning down towards Link so their faces were close. “Don’t apologize. This has been hard and very strange for you. I was the one that was prying… but I understand your worry now. I’m sorry that I hadn’t before.”

Link looked up at Sidon, his eyes twinkling.

He nodded up at him, reminding himself that everything would end up fine as long as Sidon was with him.

Link loved Sidon so much. He was so perfect.

They were going to get married soon, and then everything would make sense. Everything would be perfect. Everything would be right.

Just him and Sidon.

Just Link and Sidon.

Link jumped forward into Sidon’s chest and wrapped his arms around him. “I love you, Sidon.”

The Zora crouched down so their faces could be closer. He hugged Link back and rested his chin on the top of his head. “I love you, too, Link,” he said and softly chuckled.

Then Sidon leaned back to hold Link’s face again and lifted it up towards him. They gazed lovingly at each other and the Zora prince’s eyes shimmered with a brilliant gold as he bent down to meet his lips with Link’s.

Their kiss was sweet and affectionate. It was exactly what Link needed in that moment.

 

Just him and Sidon.

  


Just Link and Sidon.

  
  
  


~~~

  
  
  
  


This was maybe the third time that Link had woken up that night.

His eyes fluttered open to see only darkness outside the large arch windows that he was facing in the bedroom. He could feel Sidon’s heavy arm on him, the Zora’s body curled around his smaller frame and his breath on the back of his neck.

Link quietly sighed to himself, feeling a bit delighted that Sidon was still cuddling up to him in his sleep, but more annoyed that he couldn’t stay asleep. Carefully, he wriggled out from Sidon’s grasp, taking great care in not disturbing him, and sat up when he was free.

While yawning, he rubbed his eyes, which were wet with fatigue. It was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, so he wondered to himself what he could do to pass the time until Sidon woke up.

That’s when he could see from the corner of his eye a figure from the window. When he turned to look, he instantly recognized that it was Revali in flight, flying off to who knows where. Link watched him intently, admiring his flying until he could just barely see him in the distance.

When Link caught himself admiring that jerk, he shook his head violently, whipping around his loose hair, as if trying to shake it off. Then he frowned out the window, watching Revali land somewhere in the nearby cliffs.

“I ought to say something to that bastard,” Link muttered to himself under his breath before he gruffly got out of bed and threw some clothes on.

  
  
  
  


 

R E V A L I

  
  


_It's midnight's late reminder of_

_The loss of him, the one I love_

_My will to quickly end it all_

_So thought no end my need to fall_

  


It was early in the morning when Revali was sitting next to one of the ponds on the cliff sides next to Zora’s Domain. He had left his room just as dawn was breaking after he had the worst time trying to sleep. He couldn't stand laying in that bed, just staring at the ceiling for much longer, so he decided the best he could do was simply go somewhere where he could watch night to turn to day and hopefully be able to organize his thoughts.

He flew to the cliffs and landed on the shores of the first small pool he saw and proceeded to sit down in the grass, leaning into his wings as he looked out into the sky to watch the sun rise.

Revali let out a rough sigh.

Being there in the Zora's Domain was unbearable. In a way, the air there felt so heavy to him and he couldn't even think properly.  At least up here he could breathe and the crisp air gave him some relief.

It was like every time he opened his eyes to see the room he was staying in that was naturally of Zora style, he was reminded of the fact that Link had of course picked a stupid Zora over him. And the worst part is that he _knew_ for a fact that they were sharing the same bed somewhere in the same building.

… _Sleeping_ together.

And that made him feel sick. It made his blood boil. And he couldn’t even divert his mind elsewhere. No matter how hard he tried.

But the cold early morning air and the morning dew steadied him and cooled down his nerves. He could breathe easily and he didn’t feel trapped out here.

Then he heard someone walking his way; the undeniable sounds of someone walking through grass and walking in mud came from his left. He took in a deep breath, readying himself and trying to keep himself from being unreasonably rude to an innocent passerby or visitor for disturbing his peace.

But then he turned his head to see who was coming and his face instantly crinkled into a scowl. A Hylian was only around a hundred feet away and drawing nearer, with dirty-blonde hair down and flowing in the breeze. The simple tunic he wore was on crooked and the legs of the trousers he had on were rolled up unevenly. Revali wondered if he had just woken up and thrown those on. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”

Link didn’t even try to give Revali a fake smile as he approached. His tiny mouth was curled into something not too short of a frown and his eyebrows were furrowed. The dirty-blonde hair bounced as he walked forward, beautifully catching the light like it always had. Link didn’t bother to answer Revali until he was a few feet away from him. “I want to ask you something...” His tone was hesitant, which clashed with the hard look he was giving Revali as he crossed his arms.

Revali’s heart started to pick up at that for some reason, like a tiny part of him was hopeful for something, but his scowl remained.

“... and I know that _you_ would be brutally honest with me,” Link finished.

The Rito copied the Hylian by crossing his arms as well, and squinted up at him from his seat. “And why do you think that exactly?” he spat.

Link uncrossed his arms to put his hands on his hips and spat back while he leaned down towards Revali and took a step closer. “Because the one thing I know is that you’re an _ass,_ so you wouldn’t bother lying to me to make me feel better.”

_An ass?_

Hearing that beautiful voice of the person that loved him long ago call him that so scornfully… that was painful.

Revali’s face fell out of the glare and into a pained expression. “So, that’s what you think, huh?”

Link wasn’t phased by the change in the avian’s face and continued to glare, even making an effort to deepen his brow and frown. “Well, so far you’ve only proved that correct.”

The Rito looked at Link, studying his face for a moment. It hurt seeing that stupid gorgeous face look at him so distastefully; the lips that had kissed his beak years ago creased into a frown aimed at him and the eyes of sapphire that had been so full of life intensely glowered at him. And the worst part is that Link wasn’t wrong. Revali knew he hadn’t been kind or polite in any way so far and he was well aware that there were a few times where he even glared at Link and that pea-brained fish prince.

He certainly had been acting like an ass.

He _was_ an ass.

Revali turned his head away and gazed back at the sun that was still slowly crawling its way into the sky. “What do you want to know?” he asked, voice devoid of any emotion.

Revali could see Link in the corner of his eye relax; his stance shifted so it looked less like a fighting stance and the hands that were on his hips fell to his sides. The heat of glaring eyes on the side of Revali’s face faded and Link didn’t sound so angry anymore. “Why… why does everyone act so weird when I talk?” His voice went quiet and sounded almost apprehensive, completely different than what it was a moment ago.

Revali ever so slightly turned his head just enough so he could make eye contact with Link. The Hylian started to fumble around with his hands, an action that echoed the way that he had been before. The ave said nothing and only continued to silently give Link a sideways glance.

“It was the same with Zelda… and Mipha… and then you, Urbosa and Daruk.” Link took the silence as ushering him to explain himself further. “You all had the same look on your face when I first said something. I understand that you guys are probably upset that I don’t remember anything, but it just looks like there’s more to it… and it’s been bothering me.”

Right...

This wasn’t Link’s fault.

It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t remember anything and that it somehow in turn made him act differently and even allowed him to talk like he wasn’t able to before.

It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t remember everything that had happened between him and Revali. And it wasn’t his fault that he got engaged to someone else.

It wasn’t his fault, so he couldn’t be so rude to him.

Right.

Right.

Right.

Revali took too long to respond, so the glare reappeared on Link’s face. “Sorry. Nevermind then,” he muttered under his breath as he started to turn to walk away and leave Revali by himself.

“Wait,” Revali shouted, causing Link to stop in his tracks. “Wait.”

Link twisted back around to look at the avian, his eyes slightly wide. Revali was about to answer his question, but something stopped him.

The beautiful dirty-blonde hair kept flowing in the wind and Link’s lips were slightly agape. The rising sun’s colors painted him with oranges and reds, making him look like a work of art.

He was still so gorgeous.

 

 _No._ _  
_ _No, I can’t think that way anymore._

 

Revali clenched his jaw. “You… You didn’t talk before,” he muttered.

Link remained motionless, aside from cocking one eyebrow. “What?”

For some reason it was hard to look at Link now, so Revali turned away and closed his eyes. “I know it might sound strange to you, but, you were selectively mute back then.”

“Se… selectively mute?” Link questioned as he came closer; his strides rustled the grass and the mud squished underneath his shoes.

“Yes. Selectively mute. You never spoke, and most everyone had never even heard your voice before. So they all were just… very shocked to hear you speak.”

Link was beside Revali now, but the avian didn’t look up at him. Link stayed silent, as if processing what had just been said to him.

“But I… I've heard your voice before. You and I… we were…” Revali started to add, but he trailed off.

Revali remembered the very first time that Link had ever spoken to him; how that beautiful voice of his spoke his name, making his heart stop.

He remembered when Link spoke for the second time, and how he had blurted out his words on total accident, because he was just that comfortable with Revali. How he was embarrassed and ashamed of his voice and Revali tried his best to convince him otherwise… because it was the loveliest sound in the world to him.

He remembered how his voice was so warbled and gravelly from misuse and he always stuttered and mispronounced words from not having spoken in so long. How that only made Revali love Link and his voice even more, knowing that he was speaking to him even though he had forgotten how to.

He remembered the way he said, ‘I love you’ when they confessed before everything changed. How his words were as clear as a bell when he said it. How hearing that voice that was meant only for them to hear say those two words, the ones that tore Revali apart yet also kept him together during those hundred years on Medoh, made him the happiest man in the world.

But things were different now.

And they would never go back to the way they were.

Revali knew that now.

But he wasn’t sure if he could accept it full heartedly.

“What? We were what?” Link asked, a bit wary.

Revali stared at the ground in between his crossed legs before taking in a huge sigh and shaking his head, tossing around his braids. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

“‘It doesn’t matter?’” Link repeated, his voice getting louder. “What do you mean ‘it doesn’t matter’?! Of _course_ it does! You _do_ understand that I literally don’t remem-”

“Please, Link,” Revali interrupted. The pain he was feeling came out in his voice, which was loud and rough; it even startled Link into going quiet. “Trust me. It _doesn’t matter.”_ He looked to Link, his sorrow on display on his face. “Don’t worry about it.”

Link looked him in the eyes, and it was clear that he saw the pain that was there. He turned away again, facing the sun that was barely visible behind the mountains; his face now lacking any sort of anger or distaste and instead it had a distant look of sadness.

There were no words between them until Link glanced over at Revali and asked, “So why are you up here so early?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Revali answered simply. “Thought I might as well come up here and watch the sunrise, I guess.”

“Oh,” Link whispered and then looked back to the sun. He stayed quiet for a moment before finally asking, “can I join you?”

Revali didn’t answer while he continued to look out into the horizon, studying the sky as the warm colors overpowered the dark blues. He glimpsed over at Link, admiring his beauty for a split second before he forced himself to flick his eyes back ahead of him. “Sure.”

With that, Link plopped down on the ground, his legs crossed, right next to Revali, barely even a foot away.

Damn it, he was _way_ too close for comfort. Revali hated this new Link with a fiery passion, but he could still feel his feathers start to ruffle and his skin underneath grow hot as they had around Link so many long years ago.

Even if things were different and Link was different, it was still the same gorgeous man, right? The same one that had shiny dirty-blonde hair. The same one that had eyes of sapphire. The same one that smelled _exactly_ like vanilla.

The same person that made Revali lay awake for countless hours to daydream about things that never had a chance of coming to pass.

The same person that made Revali feel like someone had opened an entire cage full of butterflies inside of him.

The same person that Revali risked his life for once upon a time, because he had cared about him _that_ much.

It was the same person that had pulled Revali back down when he was trying to fly away so he could plant those lips of his on his beak.

But he didn’t remember any of that. He didn’t remember how much they loved each other and how he promised that it was going to turn out fine and they would be together.

And Revali assumed that he didn’t want to remember.

Why would he? Link had it all now. He was engaged to the Zora prince and could have every little thing his heart would desire, so why would it ever matter to him how he and Revali felt about each other in the past?

It would only make him uncomfortable around Revali, and Revali didn’t want that.

Before he thought that he didn’t ever want to be around Link ever again, but he missed him so much. Whether or not they could be together.

He missed his presence. He missed his laugh, smile and just… everything about him. And hopefully Link wanted to try to be at least friends, because now he knew that he would suffer if he was never around him again, even if he was so different.

He needed him.

So, he would keep his beak shut. He would try to relish in the moments they would have together, even if it was painfully bittersweet.

Together they watched the sun rise all the way up into the sky until most of the horizon was painted a nice bright blue. Link stood up, stretched, and said a simple “See you later” to Revali before turning away and walking back to Zora’s Domain.

The avian watched him leave, admiring his beautiful hair as he walked further and further away.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Rekindled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Champions go to leave the Domain, but something tells Revali to turn around and go see Link.  
> Link remembers a moment he had with Revali.  
> Revali goes back to Rito Village and visits his old home, but it triggers something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh looooooooook another TERRIBLE CHAPTER  
> sowwy this took awhile  
> I know I said that you wouldn't need to read Too Cruel to understand this fic, but apparently, I lied. There are a lot of references to it in this chapter cuzzzz i'm an idiot. If you need to read the synopsis, you can see it [here](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/175737792668/too-cruel-synopsis-hm-yeah-i-whipped-out-a)  
> heyoooooooooooooooooooooo i decided that revali had ptsd awhile ago, but for some reason i waited until THIS chapter to write in symptoms and stuff so sorry about that /dabs
> 
> The Lyrics are from What's Wrong by PVRIS and Fireworks Beneath My Shoes by Yorushika

R E V A L I

 

_When did I get so pitiful?_

_Just a goddamn corpse in a centerfold_

_You got my back against the wall_

_And now I can't ever get comfortable_

_No, I never sold my soul_

_If I ever do, throw my bones to the wolves_

 

As much as everyone didn’t want to part ways, it was inevitable. Urbosa and Daruk both had matters to take care of back in their homelands. There were still things left to deal with after the Calamity and Ganon, and they weren’t exactly the type to leave it to someone else, even if they had just literally been brought to life only a few days ago. The Yiga clan were still crawling around the Gerudo lands and there were a number of hellions left meandering around the deserts. Monster populations on Death Mountain and the surrounding areas were still worryingly high as well, not to mention that the Zora also had issues with all sorts of creatures still plaguing their lands, and Mipha certainly wasn’t going to sit around when she could be helping her people get rid of them.

Luckily all of the Guardians had shut off without Ganon’s influence so they were no longer an issue. However, thanks to the blood moons that rose when Ganon was alive, every monster that was killed had routinely been regenerated, keeping the populations high. And even with the cursed blood moons gone and even after Zelda and Link’s adventures together the few months after Ganon’s defeat, the two Hylians had made nothing more than a small dent in their numbers; after a year, Hyrule wasn’t that much safer than it had been before.

Of course, Zelda felt so incredibly guilty that she had failed to make Hyrule safer in the past year and that her friends were left to pick up the pieces she wasn’t able to pick up herself. Everyone assured her though that she had done wonderfully and was doing a great job putting Hyrule back on the right path after she returned. They were just glad that they were back and able to help.

And frankly, if anyone should have felt guilty, it should have been Revali. He had no idea what kind of state his people’s lands were in, and it never even crossed his mind to ask, much less than actually help. Zelda had even asked him if Tabantha was having any troubles lately and he answered truthfully without a second thought.

“Honestly, I’m not so sure,” he said as he picked at the fish on his plate that morning at the dining table in the Zora castle’s dining hall. He didn’t even like fish that much; why did he plop an entire steamed fish on his plate when there were other things to choose from? They didn’t even bother to cut its head off, so it stared at him intently with a dead milky eye, as if saying, ‘you call yourself a Champion and yet you didn’t even think to wonder about how your own people have been doing while you were away? Pathetic.’ He stabbed the eye with the fork, making the outer layer pop before it hit the crispy center.

Gross.

“Nobody said anything to me, so I’m sure it can’t be too horrible,” Revali continued, taking his fork out of the squishy orb and then trying to rub off the eye goo on his napkin. “Then again, they might not have said anything so they wouldn’t worry me, considering I was still getting my strength back. I’ll definitely ask when I return tonight though.”

Suddenly, Sidon, who annoyingly was sitting across from Revali, smiled brightly at him. “Well, if there’s no reason for you to hurry back home, then perhaps you would like to stay with us longer?” As he spoke, Mipha, who was sitting to the right of Sidon, looked up at Revali with the same hopeful glint in her eye; though, because she knew Revali much better than her brother did, it was more hesitant.

The Rito’s face crinkled into one of annoyance and disgust. “What?” Why in the hell would he ask him to stay? What kind of scheme was he planning?

Link looked up at the Zora sitting on his right, his face full of confusion and worry. He certainly didn’t want Revali to stay just as much as he didn't.

“If there isn’t an urgent matter for you attend to at home, then why would you rush back like the others? You can stay here as long as you’d like! And I would love to get to know you better, and I’m sure that Mipha would love to have you around as well,” Sidon babbled, trying and failing at making Revali want to stay.

Link’s face got even tighter as he grabbed Sidon’s arm and squeezed, making the prince look down at him. He said something quiet enough that no one but Sidon could hear, but the meathead replied with a not-so-quiet, “you’re fine” before looking back towards the Rito ahead of him. “So, what do you say?”

The corner of Revali’s beak tightened. He couldn’t say no just to say no...he needed an actual excuse to avoid staying here any longer than he needed to. Sure, early last morning he had decided he wanted to try and be around Link again, but not _here._ Not around that Zora halfwit.

And Sidon seemed like the kind to be a master at convincing people to do things, and he wasn’t going to let himself become a victim. He needed a proper excuse if he was going to escape from there.

 _An excuse_ …

Both Link and Sidon stared at him; Link giving him a worried frown and Sidon giving him a wide grin.

_What could I use as an excuse…_

Revali stared back at Sidon, studying his sickeningly eager smile with a displeased expression.

_Come on...There has to be one...._

Those big golden eyes were totally focused on him, looking at him expectantly. Those stupid eyes were crinkled as he smiled wide, the gold twinkling.

No, no. His eyes were not like the color of _gold._ That brainless dope had eyes more like the color of smelly _piss._

Wait! There was someone else that had eyes like piss too, wasn’t there? Who was it...Who was it…

_Right! Teba!_

“Hm, sorry,” Revali said, trying not to blurt out his answer as soon as it came to mind. “I actually have someone that I promised I would train. He seemed pretty excited to be trained by his Champion in the flesh, so I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.” As he spoke, his grimace morphed into a prideful smile, and he shrugged.

Urbosa next to him let out a low scoff before taking a bite out of her fish pie.

Sidon’s smile faded slightly, but less into a look of disappointment and more into one of pure understanding. “Oh! I see. That’s very kind of you to take someone under your wing so soon.” His toothy smile returned and he gave a wink, proud of making a pun that Revali had heard about a million times.

But the others clearly hadn't heard it nearly as much as Revali did, because they all laughed while he made an irritated hum and looked back down at his plate in silence.

Everyone went back to their conversations while Revali just stared down at the fish staring up at him. ‘Nice one’ echoed in his brain before he grabbed a knife to try and cut off the fish’s head.

 

~~~

 

After Urbosa, Daruk and Revali packed their things and said their goodbyes that afternoon, the three of them started to cross the large bridge that led out of Zora’s Domain. The only ones that were bidding them farewell at the exit were Mipha, Sidon, and Zelda, who had decided to stay there longer. Link was nowhere to be found.

Not that it bothered Revali.

They all waved to each other one last time before the Zora siblings and Hylian princess went back to the Domain, returning to whatever duties awaited them that day. Urbosa, Daruk, and Revali turned back ahead of them after they finished their last wave.

The plan was for them to walk together down Ruto Mountain and then part ways when the road divided, and Revali had to admit that he was excited to have time alone with two of his friends outside of the nightmare he was just living in for the last couple of days. But then when they got to the end of the bridge, something stopped him right in his tracks.

Urbosa and Daruk both stopped to turn around and look at him. “Hey, what’s wrong, bird boy?” Daruk asked, concerned.

What _was_ wrong? Revali wasn’t sure, but something was pulling him back to Zora’s Domain. Then the thought of Link popped into his mind.

After watching the sunrise together, they hadn’t spoken at all. Not once. Even though Revali wanted to spend time with Link, there was still some...not exactly hostility, but just an uncomfortable air between the two of them that he absolutely could not stand.

He had to say something. What exactly, he didn’t know, but he had to figure it out now because he had to say it before he left.

“Sorry,” Revali huffed. “Go on without me. I forgot to do something.”

Daruk and Urbosa blinked and looked at each other before looking back at Revali. “Are you sure?” Urbosa asked him, and by the look in her eyes, she had already figured out what he was doing. She wasn’t asking him if he was sure they could leave without him, but if he was sure he wanted to talk to Link.

“Yes,” Revali nodded. “I’ll try to visit with the both of you when we’re able to. I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t worry. Go do what you have to do.” Daruk smiled. “We’ll see you another time.”

They said their goodbyes and while the two older Champions turned to go on with their trek, Revali went back into the Domain to find Link for whatever reason.

It didn’t take too long to figure out where he was. Revali went up to the first guard he crossed paths with to ask and she was able to answer.

The guard had nodded and said that he was at the training grounds and then with a tiny smile, mentioned that if he wasn’t with Sidon and wasn’t doing any kind of official work, he was almost always there, swinging his sword around.

Revali thanked the guard and made his way to where he thought he saw the training grounds before, smiling just a little to himself.

At least there was one thing the new Link had in common with the old one.

 

There Link was on the Domain’s training grounds, whacking a cloth and straw dummy with the Master Sword, reminiscent of the times before. It made Revali remember the days of the distant past; the times when he would go to Hyrule Castle’s training grounds to shoot arrows, but perfecting his already perfect archery hadn’t been the main reason why he went. If he was being honest, the main reason why he went there so much was to observe Link training from the corner of his eye.

The haunting sense of nostalgia caused by seeing Link swing around that old sword was so strong for Revali that it even made him come to halt, so he was just standing there, staring stupidly at him. His chest was heaving at having rushed over so quickly- he had overexerted himself with his body that was still so irritatingly fragile.

And for what? Just to stand there and stare at him as he swung his sword around? Apparently, because even when he opened his beak to say something, his words kept getting caught in his throat and all he could do was watch the Hylian hit the dummy over and over again.

Even after all this time, after so much had changed, Link still moved with the same grace as he sliced, stabbed, and dodged. His style was still evocative of a dance, drawing Revali in and making him watch just as he had before.

Then out of nowhere, he was able to speak, and he was finally able to shout out “Link!”

Instantly the Hylian man stopped mid swing and twisted around, his loose ponytail almost whipping him in the face. Revali was relieved when his face didn’t crinkle into a scowl when he saw who had called out his name, but he wasn’t exactly thankful when it creased with worry either. “Revali?” He sheathed the sword into the scabbard on his back while he stepped to fully face the Rito. “I...I thought you left. You’re not staying here now, are you?” Link hesitantly rose an eyebrow.

“What? No! No, of course not.” Revali shook his head, tossing his braids around wildly. He smirked as he managed to say, “I have much more important things to do than to stick around in this dump. It reeks of fish.”

Link tried to stifle a laughter but failed. His laughter was bubbly and light, completely different than the way that the new Link had acted towards Revali so far. It was so sweet and wonderful, just the way it had been before the Calamity tore the two of them apart. Seeing that lovely face give in to a laugh made Revali’s heart stop. “It really does, doesn’t it? But you get used to it after a while,” Link snickered. When his laughter ended, his smile, fortunately, didn’t. “So what are you doing here, then? Gawking at me and my sword?”

Revali furrowed his brows deeply and frowned even deeper. He cursed himself when he felt his feathers ruffle up slightly in both exasperation and embarrassment.

_Damn it!_

“No! I was _not._ I’ll have you know that I-”

Link covered his mouth, but his big smirk was still visible. “Aw! Revali’s embarrassed!”

“Would you _stop?!_ I’m trying to-”

“Ha! Your feathers are ruffling up!” Link snickered.

This new Link was the absolute worst. Couldn’t he just _shut up?_ He might’ve had the angelic face of the person he was in love with before, but he was really just awful in every way. He came here for closure, but now he hated him even more.

“I’m trying to apologize to you, you idiot!” Revali shouted over Link, startling the Hylian who jolted and looked at him with wide eyes.

The Hylian blinked dumbly at him for a moment. “Oh. For what?”

Revali groaned and rolled his eyes along with his entire head. “You know what for.”

Link only blinked at him again.

Ugh. He was as dumb as he was a piece of shit.

The navy avian rose his wings up and crowed, “for being an _ass!”_ When Link didn’t say anything and only started to softly smile, he added, “I’m sorry for being so rude before, alright? I...” Revali was trying to search for the right words. He didn’t want to lie necessarily, but he couldn’t really tell the truth either. He couldn’t tell him that he had been pining over him for more than a century and his engagement with that smelly oaf shattered his heart into a million pieces. His emerald eyes flicked to the side, staring at the ground as he dug through his mind for something to say. “...I was just…”

Link’s soft smile turned into another ugly smirk. “...Jealous?”

Revali jerked, his feathers again ruffled and his beak dropped open in offense.

Well, that wasn’t too far from the truth but-!

 _“No!_ I was not _jealous!”_ The Rito squawked and stomped his foot. “I was just very upset and-” Link still looked at him with that smirk, which made Revali stop mid-sentence and spit, “Oh, don’t look at me like that!”

Revali expected some irritating sly comment or some rude retort from the Hylian, but then the weirdest thing happened instead.

Link shivered violently, his arms fell loosely at his sides, and he stood up totally straight and very still. His sapphire eyes widened way too much and became milky, almost like the eye of the fish that stared at Revali that morning. They stared straight ahead, right past Revali.

What…

What the hell happened?

“L-Link…?” Revali whimpered, his feathers falling back down to their normal state as he took a step towards Link. He brought a wing to his shoulder to gently shake it, but to no avail. “Link…?” Link’s body got jostled by Revali’s shaking, but it didn’t affect his daze.

What was this? What was happening to Link?

Oh, Hylia...did something bad happen to him?

No, no...he couldn’t lose him again. Not now.

Revali’s breath quickened and his heart beat faster. He grabbed both of Link’s shoulders and shook even harder; so hard that Link’s head was being knocked around violently. “Link! Link! Are you okay?! What happened?!”

There was no reaction. His eyes were still wide and empty and his body was still totally motionless and limp.

Should he go get someone? Would a doctor know what to do? Hylia, he didn’t even know _where_ he could find a doctor.

“Hey! Hey! Link! Snap out of it!” Revali grabbed him tighter and shook him harder than before, but there was still nothing.

He could feel his heart beating out of his chest. He could feel himself start to sweat profusely. He could feel his head start to spin as he panicked and was about to turn around to call for help.

But suddenly Link blinked his eyes and when they opened, they were back to normal. As soon as they opened, he let out a small cry and jumped backward, out of Revali’s grasp. He took in a big gasp of air and frantically looked around his vicinity, looking very shaken up. Soon enough his eyes flicked to Revali, and it seemed like seeing him there calmed him just a bit.

“Oh, thank the gods.” Revali nervously smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “I didn’t know what was going on. You scared me half to death. What even happened to you?”

The fearful look in the sapphire eyes didn’t really go away, but it did soften. Link licked his lips and took in a short intake of breath. “This has happened before...but not like this.” He brought a hand to the side of his head and shook it, then looked up at the Rito in front of him. “A memory came back to me...at least, I think so.”

Revali’s heart leaped. It continued to beat fast but now for a completely different reason.

This was just what he hoped would happen...Link was remembering....

“Was I in it?” Revali asked, much quieter than he meant to. He held his breath, desperate for Link's answer.

“Y-Yes,” Link replied and something that Revali couldn't explain changed in his eyes. It was like something inside him shifted and made his eyes brighter. Like...like he actually recognized the Rito in front of him; recognized the fact that they had been friendly with each other once upon a time. “I think...it was our first spar or something? I'm not totally sure. I think I knocked you on the ground and I tried to help you get back up, but you wouldn’t let me. You were hurt and I patched you up, even though you didn’t want me to,” Link explained while moving some loose hairs behind his ear. His eyes still looked a bit blank as he remembered what he saw, but there was no glaze at all. But then his eyes lit up when he let out a short chuckle. “You were so ashamed that I beat you that you challenged me to see who was better with archery. And even though I knew I was going to lose, I got up and did it anyway. Even though you were being really snarky and I acted offended, I was happy for some reason.” He gave the smallest of smiles to the ground and Revali wished he would smile up at him instead.

“I remember that.” Revali nodded. “It was definitely the first time that we ever sparred. It shouldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks after we first met.” He smiled down at the same place on the ground that Link was looking at and sighed. “I’m sure you already know this, but I really wasn't fond of you at first. You were just too perfect.”

 

 _Shit. Why did I say that?_ _  
_

 

Revali’s face crinkled into a slightly shameful expression as he felt Link’s eyes rise from the ground to look at him.

But Revali couldn’t look back up.

Link stepped forward and leaned down to look up at Revali, forcing eye contact.

The Rito’s heart fluttered and he felt his feathers fluff up again. The deep sapphire eyes focused on him.

“I guess I can forgive you.”

“Huh?” Revali uttered, stepping backwards and breaking their eye contact.

“I forgive you.” Link took a step backward and stood back up. His smile had faded and he looked serious. “You know, for being an ass.”

“Oh.” The navy avian stared at the Hylian for a moment before clicking his beak and murmuring, “thank you.”

Link rocked back on his heels and turned his head to the side, peering over at nothing in particular.

They stood there facing each other for what felt like an eternity; Link adjusted the scabbard on his back and Revali fiddled with the strap of the bag he had slung over his shoulder.

“Is that all?” Link asked when he turned his head back towards Revali and raised an eyebrow again.

Revali gulped.

 _“No,”_ He wanted to say. _“That’s far from it. I missed you so terribly during those hundred years and I miss you even more now. I miss the days where we were together and it hurts knowing that it will probably never be the same. I miss the days where you would smile at me and I knew that I was worth something. I miss the days where I wasn’t afraid anymore because I had you.”_

But he didn’t.

“Yes, that was all. Sorry,” Revali muttered as he rubbed his wing. “Are you sure you’re alright? I could take you to a doctor or-”

“No,” Link interrupted shortly. “I’m fine. Really.” He turned around on his heels towards the dummy he had been practicing on before Revali came along but still looked at him over his shoulder. “Sorry I worried you.”

“It’s alright.” The avian waited to see if Link was going to say something else, but then he unsheathed his sword to continue with his training; a rude cue for Revali to leave already. “I’ll be going then.”

“Mhm. See you later,” Link said before taking a swing at the straw and cloth dummy.  

Revali stood there for a few moments, watching Link hack away, part of him hoping that Link would turn around and say something more. To prove that he didn’t mean to boorishly dismiss Revali and, somewhere, somehow, Revali still meant something to him.

But that didn’t happen and instead Link over his shoulder at him again to cock another eyebrow, his mouth flattening into a curious, yet annoyed, expression.

That cold look sent a weird shiver up Revali’s spine, making him blurt, “goodbye” before twisting around and finally taking flight.

 

While he flew, his face crinkled in pain as he thought about how even after he apologized, there was still that uncomfortable air between them. For a fleeting moment, it felt like it was over, but it just came right back.

But then he started to think about how Link remembered something that had happened between them, and even though Link had to be in some frightening trance to recall it, he couldn’t help but smile a little to himself.

Maybe he still had a chance.  

 

~~~

 

As he flew back to Rito Village, the sky had gone through many color changes. It must’ve been around midnight now because the sky was a very deep dark blue and the moon was large and very bright.

While he was crossing over Lake Totori, he noticed a familiar bard on the top landing of the village. Even from far away, Kass’ music was audible in the quiet night air.

Revali made his way towards the landing where he was playing and landed a few yards away from Kass, whose eyes were closed as he played.

“Isn’t it a bit too late to be playing, Kass? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Revali said after he landed and started to make his way to the bard.

Kass must have been extremely ingrained in his music, because he clearly hadn’t even noticed the other Rito landing nearby until he spoke, which made him jump out of surprise, making an ugly sound with his accordion. He then slowly turned with a startled expression on his face that softened when he saw the Champion coming towards him.  “Ah! You’re back.” Without his music playing, the night air had become eerily quiet, but it lit up when he let out a light chuckle. “Truthfully, I’ve gotten into a nasty habit of staying up very late. With the girls asleep, it’s the one time I can play without being interrupted.” He gave a soft smile to Revali who gave one back. “Nevermind that, though. What about you? I didn’t expect you to come back so soon. Did you have a good time there?”

Well, that was certainly a loaded question.

“I guess,” Revali stated flatly, trying not to let his face give away the real answer.

However, it was clear that Kass knew just with one look that something awful must have happened there. His brows furrowed upwards and he said a simple, “I see,” before turning back to look out at the horizon. He was smart enough to know that now wasn’t the time to ask Revali questions when the wound he had was still fresh. Instead, he only asked, “you must be tired, are you not?”

Revali sighed deeply. “Very.”

“The bed is still set up in the Elder’s hut. I could walk you there if you’d like.”

“No...not there,” Revali said, shaking his head. He didn’t know if he could handle sleeping in that hut with that old coot snoring like a Hinox all night long, not to mention that he also wanted to be totally alone that night. He wondered to himself where he could stay where he could just be alone when he thought of something; he couldn’t believe it hadn’t come to him earlier.

He remembered his old hut that he had before the Calamity. It was just outside the village, so there could have been a chance that it was still standing.

Memories of that place came flooding back to him in an instant; the times where Koni barged in without knocking, the times that Kezul would do the same but to drag him outside for extensive training. Those long nights where he stared up at the ceiling, fantasizing about a certain Hylian. Those couple of wonderful and horrible days where Link stayed with him.

“Do you know if…” Revali faltered before hesitantly asking, “do you know if my hut is still here?”

Kass blinked at him for a moment, processing the question, and then uttered, “yes. Yes, it is.” Rubbing the back of his neck, the bard added, “though it’s not exactly in the best shape-”

“I don’t care. I want to be there tonight.” Revali spat, twisting around to make a beeline to his old home.

Knowing that it was still there...his home...brought him a sort of peace. Something from his old life was still here, waiting for him to return. But at the same time, he was scared, because he knew it would definitely not be the way that he had left it and it would be a grim reminder of all the time that had passed.

Kass immediately stumbled to follow him, almost tripping. “I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. It’s not very safe! It’s falling apart.”

“I don’t care. I just...I need to be there right now,” the navy avian called behind him, walking down the village’s bridges towards the entrance. “Even if it is dangerous.”

The aquamarine Rito continued to follow, his accordion still in hand and making tiny sounds with each step. “Well...as long as you’re careful...”

“Of course,” Revali said, his voice more calm and sincere. “I’m just surprised that it’s still standing.”

“Barely,” Kass chirped. “I heard that they were originally going to knock it down, but everyone decided that it would be disrespectful to your memory. So instead, they kept it up and it became a place of offering for you.”

Hearing that made Revali feel a bit better. Knowing that his people really _did_ care about him…

It felt nice.

Revali smiled to himself and only responded with a short hum.

 

When they reached the exit of the village, they made a right turn towards a small bridge that led to another, very small, rock island. The night air was full of the light chirps of crickets and the wind that breezed through the treetops and tossed around the branches of pine trees. Kass was still by Revali’s side, silently walking next to him.

When they arrived at the bridge, Revali looked ahead to see the place that he had spent many nights and made many memories.

And it was in shambles.

It was clear that when the Calamity first started it had been burnt down in the fires that spread across the village, even though it was out of it. No more than half of its frame still stood. Everything else had collapsed within itself, leaving a large pile of black, burnt wood on the ground. The black old wood was decomposing, covered in little sprouts of plants.

Flora was taking over what was left standing; moss was spreading over the frame and tufts of grass had broken through the split floorboards. There even was a bird’s nest sitting on top of a broken board that had once been a piece of the roof, and with close inspection, he noticed a couple of burrows underneath the destroyed home.

Seeing it made Revali’s heart drop and then beat hard and fast. His breath quickened so much that it felt like he wasn’t getting enough air. His muscles tensed up painfully.

He knew that it would be in pieces. He knew that. But that was not what made him start to tremble and it wasn’t what made his heart and breathing go wild.

 

_Fire._

 

Seeing the pieces of wood black from a fire long ago set something off inside of him and he couldn’t stop it.

 

_Fire._

 

“Oh dear. It’s a lot worse than I remember. Are you certain that you want to stay here? It’s such a wreck. There isn’t even a roof. ” Kass said while taking a step towards the bridge, but his voice was very distant and sounded like it was underwater.

 

_Fire_

_Night_

_Cries_

_Slaughter_

_Silver_

_Blood_

_Guardians_

_Death_

_Kezul_

_Koni_

 

Revali’s chest heaved as the memory of the first day of the Calamity broke into his mind.

 

_Fire_

_Night_

_Cries_

_Slaughter_

_Silver_

_Blood_

_Guardians_

_Death_

_Kezul_

_Koni_

 

The flames that burned down his village and lit up the body covered streets ignited in his mind. The night sky was almost black then, but the fires made the sight of the village blinding. The cries of his people as they were massacred rung in his head, making his heart beat faster. The ugly silver color of the Moblins that brutally killed Kezul flashed in his mind. The blood that squirted from his mentor’s body as his life was taken from him splattered across his mind’s eye and he saw the bright blue flicker of a Guardian approaching.

“Revali? Revali, are you alright?” Revali heard Kass ask with concern from a thousand miles away.

 

_Fire_

_Night_

_Cries_

_Slaughter_

_Silver_

_Blood_

_Guardians_

_Death_

_Kezul_

_Koni_

 

The image of Koni holding onto Kezul’s corpse and sobbing into him, covering himself in blood, appeared before Revali. He saw the Stalker Guardian crawling towards them all the while crushing burning buildings under its mechanical tentacles. The beeping of the machine echoed in his brain as Koni’s face turned to him, tears pouring out of his wide dark eyes while the fires lit up his figure. He watched as Koni’s beak slowly curled into a smile as he softly spoke.

 

_“It’s not your fault.”_

 

Then there was the deafening blast of the Guardian’s annihilating ray. It blew apart both Koni and Kezul, and Revali was forced to watch their bodies fall into the nothingness below. Again.

 

_FireFireFireFireFire_

_NightNightNightNightNight_

_CriesCriesCriesCriesCries_

_SlaughterSlaughterSlaughterSlaughterSlaughter_

_SilverSilverSilverSilverSilver_

_BloodBloodBloodBloodBlood_

_GuardiansGuardiansGuardiansGuardiansGuardians_

_DeathDeathDeathDeathDeath_

_KezulKezulKezulKezulKezul_

_KoniKoniKoniKoniKoni_

 

_KezulandKoniandKezulandKoniandKezulandKoniandKezulandKoniandKezulandKoniand…_

 

Revali broke out his trance with a vicious shake. He let out a cry and threw his head up to see Kass staring down at him, eyes wide with worry and hands firm on his shoulders. His chest was still heaving and he could hear his heart pounding. He felt tears in his eyes so he tried to blink them away.

“Oh, thank Hylia. Are you alright? You just suddenly stopped and started breathing so quickly. You were in such a daze.”

Revali violently nodded, still trying to blink away the tears in his eyes. Then nausea hit him right in the stomach at full force out of nowhere. He ripped himself out of Kass’ grasp and stumbled to the closest tree.

With one wing, he held himself up, trying so desperately to catch his breath. Vomit tried to crawl up his throat, making him gag several times, but he managed to keep it down. Eventually, he was able to slow down his breathing to the point where he wasn’t gasping for air anymore.

His wing became too shaky to hold his weight and his legs began to buckle, so he crouched down and held himself up with both arms on the ground.

Soon Revali looked over to see Kass crouching down next to him and putting a wing on his back. He leaned forward to look Revali in the eye and ask, “Goodness, are you alright? What happened?”

“Nothing,” Revali strained to say in between heavy breaths. He swallowed and said more coherently, “nothing happened. I’m fine.”

Kass’s face crinkled with concern. “No, I don’t think you are. Revali, I don’t think you should be alone tonight. How about you stay with my family and I? I can tell the girls to leave you alone. Or if you’re so incessant on staying here, I can be here with you.”  
“No.” Revali suddenly stood up and whipped his head towards his old home. “No. I have to be here. Alone. At least just for tonight.”

“Revali-” Kass started to say, his voice low with a fatherly sternness, but then he cut himself off when the navy Rito peered down at him with dampened emerald eyes.

“Please.”

The older avian looked up at Revali, studying his face for a few moments before he heavily sighed and flicked his eyes to the grass. Thoughtfully, he watched the grass sway in the wind and then looked back to the younger Rito. “Alright, alright. If that’s what you want to do.” He stood up slowly and glanced down at Revali. “Let me give you our spare hammock and help you set it up at the very least.” Before Revali could argue, he started to briskly walk back towards the village and said behind him, “stay right there and watch my accordion, would you? I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Revali just stood there, his beak tightening into a small frown as he watched Kass go. The chilly night wind waved around his feathers and his scarf, but he couldn’t feel the cold the breeze brought thanks to his feathers. He looked down over at the accordion that was placed on the ground and admired the way the gold trimming reflected the moonlight.

It wasn’t long before Kass came back with a hammock in hand. As soon as they did, they crossed the bridge together across the ruins of Revali’s old home.

While they crossed the bridge though, Revali’s legs began to shake and he could feel nausea kicking in again while he stared at the shambles ahead. He managed to pull through though, so him and Kass set up the hammock and tied it to pieces of the remaining frame.

When they finished, the light blue Rito looked over at the other, face full of worry. “Are you sure you want to be alone?”

Revali only nodded, eyes fixed on the hammock as he checked to make sure it was sturdy.

Kass put a hand on Revali’s arm, making him look up at him. Butterscotch eyes gazed down at him softly. “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to come get me.”

The navy avian nodded again and said, “thank you.”

Kass patted his arm and turned to leave. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

And so Kass left, leaving Revali alone with his thoughts.

Revali promptly crawled into the hammock they set up. As soon as he plopped on, it swung slightly, already beginning to lull him to sleep. As much as he wished that his home didn’t become such a wreck since his departure from the living, he was a bit thankful that he had a perfect view of the stars above him. They twinkled brightly down at him in the clear night sky, catching his eye.

The wind continued to blow, rustling the trees and whizzing past the pieces of frame that were still standing. Crickets still chirped, their songs drifting through the wind. Owls hooted from the treetops nearby. Together it was like a lullaby, soothing him and drifting him off to sleep.

He swung to one side to make the hammock rock again, and then curled on his side and shut his eyes.

 

_Fire._

 

He squeezed his eyes tighter, letting the hammock try to rock him to sleep.

 

_Night._

 

A few tweets came from the nest above his head. They were high-pitched and sweet; probably the babies telling their mother that they were hungry.

 

_Cries._

 

He heard some rustling from the grass, trots across the bridge, and then some sounds of something digging underneath the structure. This place didn’t belong to just him anymore.

 

_Slaughter._

 

Revali thought of the way that Link looked over his shoulder at him earlier that day, clearly annoyed that he hadn’t left yet. Why _hadn’t_ he left yet? Why didn’t he leave with Urbosa and Daruk? Why did he have to turn around and run to Link?

 

_Silver._

 

Link had just cocked an eyebrow at him, his lips pursed into an annoyed frown. He would have never made that face at him...or at _anyone._ What happened to him? Didn’t he miss Revali? Why couldn’t he have missed Revali like Revali missed him? What did he do wrong?

 

_Blood._

 

Revali remembered the morning of their last day together where he had meant to confess to Link. He remembered those eyes of blue twinkling like stars while Link told Revali how much he meant to him. Where was _that_ look? Revali needed to see that again.

 

_Guardians._

 

Revali wondered if things would’ve somehow turned out differently if he just gods damn _said_ something. He knew it wasn’t true- that it wasn’t possible that it would have changed anything. But it didn’t keep him from wondering.

 

_Death._

 

Revali recalled the moment where Link grabbed and pulled him down when he was trying to escape to kiss him. They were able to finally say their ‘I love you’s before he flew away to die like the pathetic failure he was.

 

_Kezul._

 

He thought back to being at Zora’s Domain and seeing Link and Sidon being affectionate towards each other. How Link hung on Sidon’s arm and how Sidon would plant a sweet kiss on Link’s temple. How Revali pretended not to notice and even tried to convince himself that he saw nothing. How he simply sniffed, turned his head away, and clicked his beak. Revali could pretend that he still had a chance, but he knew that he didn’t.

 

_Koni._

 

Nothing was the same anymore. He had been brought back to life along with the other Champions, but everything was still so different. The village where he grew up was gone, his family was long dead, the person he still loved didn’t remember him, and he didn’t even have a home to come back to.

 _“It’s not your fault”_ were Koni’s very last words.

But it was, wasn’t it?

It was his fault.

Everything was his fault.

He was just as much of a pathetic excuse for a person now as he was before he became a Champion.

Why was he alive?

Why was he even here?

Why did Hylia bring him back? To torture him? To prove to him that he was nothing more than a worthless piece of shit?

He curled into a ball and clenched his fists, trying not to cry. But the tears and sobs were just as invincible as they had always been. They broke out; the sobs making his entire body shake.

 _“It’s not your fault,”_ Koni told him.

“Yes, it is,” Revali hiccuped into the wind that whistled around him. “It’s all my fault.”

The crickets continued to chirp.

  


L I N K

 

_Look, Look_

_Even if I try to get to know you_

_It’s ambiguous because you’re so full of pride_

_There’s nothing that can make me feel refreshed_

_But the sky is beautiful again today_

 

Link was having a hard time falling asleep again that night. Next to him, Sidon was laying down with his hand still entangled in Link’s hair. He had been playing with the loose dirty-blonde hair as he was falling asleep, so his hand was still limp there.

Link was laying on his back though, staring straight up at the ceiling above him. He studied the intricate designs carved into the stone above him for the trillionth time and sighed. His eyes flicked over at Sidon to gaze at him as he slept. He watched him breathe softly and nuzzle further into the pillow. With a smile, Link looked back up above him.

He thought about earlier that day, how Revali triggered a memory. Of course, later on, he had told Sidon that he remembered something from the past, and he was absolutely exuberant over it. Sidon was over the moon over the fact that Link could remember more things from the past, so perhaps he could rekindle his relationships with his old companions and become as close as they had been before the Calamity.

But Link? He hated it. He hated how it felt being forcibly pulled into the depths of his mind to recall things he wasn’t sure he wanted to. It was discombobulating and left him feeling nauseous. It gave him such an intense migraine, just as it had after he found a memory while traveling across Hyrule before he defeated Ganon. Even though it happened hours ago and he had gotten this memory differently than the other ones, he still had an awful headache and it felt like his brain was swimming in mud.

That memory though...that memory with Revali…

As soon as Revali had spat, “Oh, don’t look at me like that!” to him that afternoon after Link called him jealous, he was shot back in time to the exact moment where Revali had said the very same thing.

 

Revali was on the ground in front of him, looking like he had just got knocked off of his feet. Link didn’t recognize where they were, but with some simple observations, he deduced that they probably had been at Hyrule Castle’s old training grounds.

The wooden sword Revali must’ve been using was laying a foot away from him and Link was pointing his own practice sword at the Rito. Link felt his lips stretch out into a smug little smile.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that!” Revali spat up at him, squinting his eyes that were wild with anger. “If I had my bow, you would be _much_ worse off!”

Link had shrugged then before holding out a hand to help Revali up, but immediately it was swatted away and the Rito’s scowl intensified. He felt how difficult it was back then to abide by the Rito’s wishes and stand aside while Revali struggled to get up on his own.

Revali let out a hiss in pain as he held onto his side, and for some reason, Link had dropped his sword to rush to that asshole’s aid. Why had he cared about him getting hurt?

Link had reached out for the place that Revali was holding onto and looked up at him. His eyebrows furrowed in concern and his lips frowned apologetically. Then he felt himself gulp and start to blush, but just barely, as he noticed how close their faces were.

That severely confused Link as he remembered this. What was he doing blushing over that jerk?

The avian stepped backward and turned away from Link, avoiding his touch. “I don’t need your stupid pity. I’m fine!” Link rubbed his chest in a circular motion then, maybe it was sign language for something that he couldn’t remember now, and Revali retorted with _“I’m fine!_ Now pick your sword back up.” With one wing he motioned to Link’s sword that was still on the ground before he bent over to reach for his own. It must’ve caused him pain because he let out another hiss and stopped. Link stepped forward to help, but Revali held up a wing to tell him to stay away.

Just as he thought. He was a stubborn asshole.

After a good few moments of staying still and holding his side, Revali finally stood back up and declared, “okay, I’m ready. Come at me, Hylian.”

When Link was remembering this memory, he was looking forward to reliving beating Revali up. But instead, he had just shook his head.

“What? Are you scared that you’re going to lose to me after I wore you out?” Revali laughed.

Link only pursed his lips and lowered his brow as a response.

Revali stared back at him for a beat before huffing and grumbling, “Fine. You win. I could use a break anyway” before proceeding to a nearby stone bench outside of the training grounds and sat down.

Link smiled to himself before walking over to sit next to Revali on his right, the side where he was hurt. He felt himself blush a little as he pointed to the wound and looked up at Revali like he was asking if he could look at it.

“I’m fine,” Revali scoffed. “Leave it alone.”

Link furrowed his eyebrows again and went shuffling in one of the small bags he had attached to his belt and took out a small jar of something white. Seeing the jar in his hands again sparked a few small and vague memories; he recalled using that ointment stuff on many occasions.

When he held it out to show the Rito sitting beside him, Revali asked, “What in Hylia’s name is that?”

Link really must’ve been mute like he was told because all he could do to communicate was shake the container and point at the ave’s side again.

“Oh. So, it’s a healing potion?”

Link held out his free hand and teetered it to say ‘sort of’, before pointing to his side again and making a circular rubbing motion in the air.

“A… healing ointment then?” Revali asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Link nodded his head and started to screw open the jar.

“No thanks. I’ll pass,” Revali said, waving a hand.

Link snapped his neck to look at Revali, somehow surprised that he refused but frustrated nonetheless. He frowned and, against Revali’s wishes, continued to open the container and took out some of the cream. With some on his fingers, he leaned down to put some on the wound anyway, regardless of Revali’s ugly squawking and dodging.

He had managed to get some on the Rito’s side, which made him go totally silent instantly, assumably because it took away the pain right away.

Link had known that it would’ve been better to just take his hand away as soon as possible after placing the ointment there, but…

He remembered thinking, _“Wow. He’s so soft,”_ and being so engrossed in the softness and smoothness of the navy feathers that his fingers lingered too long. So long that it flustered Revali and made him whack his hand away and shoot him a grimace at him.

Link’s heart skipped a beat and he jumped, turning red as his lips curled into a nervous smile. He started to sign something but he suddenly stopped and motioned to the injury and cocked his head to the side instead, probably because he had remembered that Revali couldn’t speak sign language.

Revali let out a quick growl from his throat before grunting, “Yes, it worked.” Scooting as far away as he could from Link and crossing his arms, he added, “though don’t think that it’s acceptable to have the audacity to ever touch me.”

Link smiled and playfully rolled his eyes then, but he faintly remembered feeling disappointed that Revali had scooted away from him like that.

 

Recalling the memory was as frustrating as it was confusing, especially now as Link was left staring at the ceiling and hoping to figure something out.

There was no way around it. There was no denying it.

He couldn’t pretend that he didn’t notice that he had felt a certain lightness in that memory. That his heart wasn’t beating a little _too_ quickly. That he didn’t flush slightly when Revali looked at him, even though it was always as a glare. That his heart didn’t drop when Revali sent him a slightly disgusted look as he scooted away from him.

That he wasn’t happy that he was sparring with Revali in the first place.

No. It couldn’t have been true. Link’s mouth tightened into an agitated frown as he tried to come up with some other explanation.

There was absolutely _no way_ that he had had a crush on _Revali_ of all people. Not the jerk that swatted at his hands so rudely. The one that called him ‘vile’ and glared at him on multiple occasions. The one that seemed to have ignored him most of the time he was at the Domain.

There had to be a reason. Anything would’ve been better than the thought of him having a crush on that jackass bird. The idea of it alone made him want to gag.

That wasn’t the only thing he was pondering over though.

Revali had asked him _“was I in it?”_  that afternoon after Link told him that a memory had just came to him. His voice was quiet and seemed to be trembling, and he looked so hopeful and desperate for him to say ‘yes’.

Naturally, his old friends would want Link to remember them more than anything, but there was more there. It was like Revali _needed_ him to say ‘yes’. There was something about that that worried Link.

Now Link could have mulled about it all night, but he had enough mulling. He just wanted to sleep now and to just pretend like he wasn’t bothered by it.

With a sigh, he rolled onto his side and scooched backward into Sidon and pulled the blanket high enough so that it covered half of his face.

 

_Me having a crush on Revali?_

 

_That's ridiculous._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just made [a writing side blog!!!](https://zzariyofuckzone.tumblr.com/) I'm gonna be posting my writing stuff on there instead of my main tumblr, and i think that i'm going to be writing other things aside from this fic now!!! so!!!  
> also thank u for reading this,,,it honestly means the world to me dklgshak
> 
> and!!! i'm going to try to update every other tuesday. we'll see if i can keep this schedule


	7. Parasite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali finally gives in and starts to train Teba.  
> Revali talks with some other 'cuckoo birds', who tells him how he's changed their lives.  
> Sidon and Link have another talk and Sidon makes a radical decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gOD I'M SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE PACING IS SO WEIRD???? AND THAT IT'S SHORT?????AND IT'S JUST??? TERRIBLE??? i would say that you could just skim through it, but a lot of it is a set up to VERY IMPORTANT THINGS IN THE FUTURE. so i am very very very sorry for this dsjgahsgjk,,,,,,, i'm sorry this is going so slow there's just so many things i want to SAY !!! but, i tried to condense what i write this time around so...tell me what u think!! whether u think it's not enough or whether u prefer it this way
> 
> Also, just like with the last chapter, i bring up something important out of the blue when i should've led up to it and explained it earlier :) y'know. like an idiot  
> the cuckoo bird hc comes from my fwiend [ Adaha!!](https://adahimius.tumblr.com/) I mentioned it extremely briefly on a past chapter but. yah. she has really good rito hcs i love them
> 
> Here's some ugly pictures of [Meelo and Meezuli, ](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/178429356488/haahaa-i-drew-this-in-july-but-i-was-savin-them) who come up in this chapter.
> 
> The songs used in this chapter are Cracks by Freestylers and Ghost by Halsey

 

 

R E V A L I

 

_Leave the past behind_

_Just walk away_

_When it’s over_

_And my heart breaks_

_And the cracks begin to show_

 

Revali woke up that morning with the sun shining directly into his eyes. The night before, he did find some solace in having a view of the sky above him so he could see the stars shine, but now it pissed him off. Without a roof, the sun was blinding him, worsening the headache that made his head pound as soon as he woke up.

He let out a loud groan before sitting up in his hammock and rubbed at his eyes. Irritating, ear-splitting chirps came from the bird’s nest that he had found so sweet and endearing the night before. Those infuriating twitters got on his nerves, making him look up at the nest with an intense grimace.

Kass was right. He shouldn’t have slept here.

If only he had his bow, then he could shoot a warning shot at those abominable birds and get them to shut their traps!

_Wait…_

His bow! Where was his bow?! How could they not have given his Great Eagle Bow back to him yet?! It was disrespectful to keep it away from him for this long. What were they all thinking?

He grumbled incoherently to himself. Not once did he realize how much he had missed his bow; how he missed feeling the snap of the bowstring as it shot an arrow towards its target. How he missed feeling utter satisfaction and pleasure as he and his trusted bow hit their mark perfectly.

The headache swarming his brain only got worse as he got angrier over this. Uselessly he rubbed at his temples and the volume of his grumbles and growls got increasingly louder.

Then his stomach made a low, ugly rumble that was even louder than his groaning. It bellowed and roared, startling Revali quiet.

Wow. He really hadn’t eaten for a while.

As much as his headache screamed at him and begged him not to move, the hunger he started to feel in his gut was insatiable. Nothing sounded better than food; even having a morning nap.

He reached out to the bag that Kaneli gave him that was laying on the ground, and with a swing of the hammock, he was able to reach for it. After grabbing it, he threw it onto his lap and flipped it open to search for a pouch full of rupees that Kass had given to him for emergencies the other day. While staring inside the pouch at the rupees inside that glittered in the morning light, he was deciding whether or not he could use it to buy food. He was planning on giving it back as there were no emergencies that required money, but gods he was starving.

Whatever. He would pay him back later.

He needed to eat _now._

Gripping the pouch tightly, he found his footing and sat up before turning out of the ruins of his old home and towards the village to scavenge for food.

 

On his way up to Rito Village, he noticed a Hylia statue displayed by the entrance. For a second he stopped and stared at it.

Around it were offerings of different kinds. There were flowers, feathers, food, and even jewels, and it made Revali sneer.

As much as the Rito were raised to worship Hylia and live to please her like a bunch of stupid dogs, Revali had no respect for her anymore. She was sly, devious and merciless, so why should he ever waste his time giving a goddess like that his devotion?

He glared at her... _it_...whatever.... and then huffed, continuing his way back up into the village.

 

Revali walked the path, passing the inn to get to the general store, The Slippery Falcon, and the name made him smile a bit to himself.

Back before the Calamity, The Slippery Falcon was one of the general stores in the village. It was nice seeing a familiar name, even though the store was nothing like it had been in the past. Before it was much larger and sold a much bigger array of merchandise. But this was small and had a tiny selection compared to what once was.

The shop keeper, a young Rito woman, jolted when she saw Revali walk into her shop. Her beak hung open dumbly but she managed to snap it shut before she sputtered, “Ch-Champion Revali! W-Welcome to The Slippery Falcon! What can I help you with today?”

Revali paid her no mind and he just looked around at what the store had to sell.

There was barely anything.

This was sad.

“Thank you. I’m just looking for something quick to eat is all. Do you have anything?”

“Y-yes,” she blurted. “We just had some bread rolls imported from Central Hyrule. Maybe you would like to try one?” With one shaky wing, she motioned over to the other side of the store towards a basket full of large bread rolls next to another basket of wheat.

He walked over to see them; they were bigger than any roll he had ever seen and they looked positively heavenly. He would’ve liked something closer to an actual meal, but this was the best he could get for now considering that he had no way of really making himself anything with the other things they were selling.

Quickly, he opened up the pouch and took a roll in his other hand as he said, “These look great. What do I owe you for one?”

“N-Nothing! You don’t owe me anything.”

Revali looked up from the pouch to raise an eyebrow at her.

“Y-you don’t have to pay for it. It’s on the house,” she smiled wide, the corners of her beak wobbling with nervousness.

Revali lowered her eyebrows at her and continued to fumble through the pouch for a decent amount of rupees. “Please. I’m fine with paying.”

“No, I insist!” she twittered. “I can’t ask our Champion to pay.”

All Revali wanted to do was protest, but it was clear that she wasn’t going to take his money whether or not he forced it on her. As much as he enjoyed being adored, loved and respected, a part of him hated it when people wouldn’t let him just take care of himself.

Then again, if he just accepted her offer, then he wouldn’t feel the need to pay Kass back.

His beak was open for him to object, but instead, he brought the roll to his beak and slowly took a bite while squinting at the shopkeeper.

“Thank you,” Revali said, closing the pouch and attaching it to his belt. He began to turn away to exit the store without another word.

Calling out to him as he left, the young woman shouted, “Th-Thank you so much for coming in! We h-hope to see you soon!”

 

Revali began to saunter down the path as he worked on the bread roll he acquired. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do that day except eat and ask some knucklehead where the hell they were hiding his Great Eagle Bow. For now, he would just finish his roll and ask later.

Mindlessly, Revali walked to the edge of the large landing, taking little bites out of the bread as he took a second to forlornly look out onto the horizon.

Again.

His brooding was interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to him, drawing nearer. “Good Morning, Master. I’m glad to see you’re back. How was your trip?”

Of course.

 _This_ guy again.

Revali whipped around to look at Teba with a twisted expression that perfectly described how his time in Lanaryu made him feel.

Tired.

Depressed.

Hateful.

Remorseful.

_Pissed the fuck off._

Teba merely blinked at him with eyes slightly wide, clearly taken aback by that gods awful expression. “Oh.”

Revali held that expression and stared at Teba for longer than was probably necessary and slowly took a bite out of his bread.

Even though Revali was giving him a cold stare, Teba made the unwise decision to step forward and join him on the edge of the landing. But, rather than share a nice, quiet moment with him like Kass would have, Teba instead said, “I’m, ah, I’m sorry that it didn't go so well. Would you like to talk about it?”

“No, I would _not_ like to talk about it,” Revali spat, bread crumbs flying everywhere. “I would _like_ to shoot that stupid Link in the face though, that’s for sure.” His frown got more intense and he swung his head over to Teba. “Say, you helped him get to Vah Medoh didn’t you? What’s your take on that little idiot? Was he rude to you? Insensitive maybe? Just overall very _bastard-ish?”_ He squinted at Teba, telling him that he shouldn’t dare say anything nice about that twat.

Teba got the message and blinked wildly, taken aback. “Uh, yeah. He was a bit cold I guess-”

“Of course he was! I would’ve expected no less!” Feeling himself get angrier, Revali began to squeeze the soft bread in his hands.

He thought back to the day before when Link just looked over his shoulder at him with that cold look.

How it showed how annoyed he was with Revali’s presence.

How it told him to just ‘beat it’.

Revali angrily took a big bite out of the bread roll and through his chews, seethed, “I would just love to shoot an arrow right between his eyes.” He began to notice how heavily he was breathing so he took a second to slow his breathing down. After swallowing his bite he let out a hard, rough sigh and looked back over at the warrior that was still standing next to him awkwardly. “Teba, would you happen to know where my Great Eagle Bow is kept? I feel like I need it to stay sane. I’ve been missing that thing.”

Teba avoided eye contact with large eyes and the corners of his beak flattened into a hideously awkward expression. He emitted a low, quiet humming sound.

“Teba…”

Silence.

“Teba….” Revali growled again, wild emerald eyes squinting.

“He had it,” Teba mumbled.

 _“Who_ had it?”

“...Link had it.”

Revali almost exploded.

He bent over backward and put his wings to his face and shot back up, squawking, _“What?!_ He has it?! Who in their right mind would just give-” He stopped suddenly, fully processing what Teba had said to him. “Wait. _Had?”_

Teba made a faint hissing sound, again avoiding the Champion’s eyes.

In retaliation, Revali glared up at him, digging holes into his face.

After a very long, irritating silence, Teba choked, “...he broke it.”

Revali’s eyes shot so far open that it hurt and he felt them turn red in fury.

“...A couple of times actually...”

Revali started to literally _fume._ He wasn’t sure if he had ever been this angry before. He could feel fire blaze inside of his chest as a scream rumbled in his lungs, trying ever so desperately to escape.

“...But now it’s been broken so much that it’s unfixable.”

He thought that he hated Link enough, but this was past hatred now. It was past loathing. Was there even a word for what he felt at that moment?

“He _broke_ my _Great Eagle Bow?!”_ Revali screeched at the top of his lungs. “Are you _kidding me?!_ I take back what I said about shooting his face! I’m going to tear out his throat with my own two wings!”  Again, he squeezed the bread tightly and started to babble furiously. “Why would you- how could you- why did- Gah!” Because of the state he was in, he was unable to piece together all the angry words rattling around in the inside of his head to say one coherent sentence. Instead, in a fit of rage, he threw his bread roll off the edge and instantly regretted it.

Seeing his free meal whiz through the air and then down into the lake below somehow washed away a good bit of his fury, and embarrassment for his lack of control took its place.

How childish of him.

And that was a really good roll, too.

“I know, I know. I was pretty upset myself,” Teba said, uselessly trying to calm the storm inside of Revali. “I told him off. Don’t worry.”

Good. At least he didn’t get away with it totally scot-free.

The Champion took a very deep breath and swept down his crest, hoping to flatten his feathers that started to rise. “Thank you. Next time I see him I’ll wring his scrawny neck and then that’ll make it even.”

Teba chuckled a bit nervously and then went quiet. His eyes flicked around like he wanted to say something, and after a quick intake of breath, he started to hesitantly say, “I-I have a bow that you might like to have. I know that it couldn’t replace your Great Eagle Bow, but it’s close.”

The fire in Revali’s chest settled, but he was still skeptical. “Close?”

“Y-Yes.” The warrior gulped and then rubbed the back of his head. “I, uh, have been altering two Falcon Bows to try and make them more like the Great Eagle Bow was. I never was able to really use your old bow, but I think that one of the alterations is definitely getting there.”

Revali’s eyes sparkled and his frown turned upwards into a smile.

Wow, maybe Piss-eye McGee wasn’t so useless after all.

No. It was probably just a hunk of junk and nothing more. He shouldn’t get his hopes up. 

He knew that, but excitement fluttered in his chest and he couldn’t help himself.

“May I see them?”

For a split second Teba smiled and his eyes shone. But as quick as his smile came, it left and went right back to his tough expression. “O-Of course. They're at the Flight Range.”

The Flight Range! For the love of everything holy, how hadn't he visited that old place yet? It had meant the world to him during his old life. Before he became a Champion, he spent almost every waking moment there; honing his skills and talents and teachings others.

Revali had known that the Flight Range was still intact and in use, as it was in his view on Vah Medoh. He had watched Rito after Rito visit and train over the years and he felt great pride seeing that his people continued to use what he had built. He was beyond grateful that it survived the Calamity.

“Well, let’s go then,” Revali said with a slight smile. “While we’re there, maybe I’ll even start your training. It’s about time I filled my end of the bargain.”

Again, Teba smiled for just a millisecond and stammered, “Wh- really?” He looked around, maybe checking to see whether his underlings had everything under control so he could leave.

“Yes, really,” the Champion said as he turned away from the warrior and walked to the very edge of the landing, ready to hop off. “Now, come on before I change my mind.”

Teba continued to look around for a beat before nodding and jumping off of the landing after Revali and opening his wings for the wind to catch.

 

~~~

 

When they had landed at the Flight Range and walked inside, a bittersweet nostalgia hit Revali in the gut. The inside remained the same after all of these years, save for a couple of changes.

There was still a bonfire in the center of the room just as there was a hundred years ago, but now it was decorated with feathers and there were blue and orange carpets spread out on the floor. There were two hammocks hung up on the inside, too.

Was Teba staying here?

Revali’s beak creased into a look that was somehow in between a frown and a smile as he looked around. “I can’t believe that this survived the Calamity and is in such mint condition. It’s almost just as I remembered.”

“Yeah, the fires and Guardians never got to it. But it did have to be restored a couple of times because of the weather,” Teba said as he walked over to where a bow was displayed. He grabbed it and headed over towards Revali and held it out to him. “This is no Great Eagle Bow, but it’s the best I have. I’ve been altering it for a while now...You can have it if you like...”

It definitely was no Great Eagle Bow, but it was extremely altered. Revali took it from Teba and inspected it; feeling its weight, playing with the bowstring, and trying out its grip. It was certainly more like the Great Eagle Bow than a Falcon Bow ever could be, so Revali felt very pleased and even delighted to have it gifted to him.

“Thank you, Teba. I’ll use it,” Revali said as he put the bow onto his back.

It felt wonderful to have a bow there. He'd been feeling naked without one.

“Sure thing.” Teba’s face very lightly brightened as he went to grab another Falcon Bow off of a display, which was altered, but less so than the one he had given his new mentor. “So, do you want me to show you what I can do, or...”

“Sure. That’ll work,” the navy ave said with a sigh as he started to step out onto the landing. “Show me what you can do.”

There was a spark in Teba’s eyes, but he kept his face void of emotion as he nodded and stepped forward, Falcon Bow on his back and a large quiver full of a variety of arrows attached to his waist.

He got to the edge of the landing and over the howling wind, Revali could just hear Teba let out a sigh and an ‘okay’ to himself before he opened his wings and jumped off the plank, using the natural updraft to send him flying up.

With a couple of extra flaps of his wings, he was high in the air; high enough to eye all of the targets at the range. He knocked the bow off of his back and grabbed it out of the air with his talons, and then he started to dive down, cutting through the air like an arrow.

Revali smiled to himself as Teba neared his targets and kicked his bow into the air, nabbed it out of the air with his wings as he fell downwards, and shot the arrows from his quiver, successfully shooting the bullseye of the seven targets he had aimed for. It was so reminiscent of what Kezul had taught him, and while he watched thoughtfully, flashbacks of his own mentor teaching him the same technique he was watching flashed in the back of his mind.

Perhaps he had been too hard on Teba. Frankly, he was an amazing warrior with a perfect aim, worthy of his role as leader. He deserved more credit than Revali had been giving him, even if he was extremely rude at first.

Teba shot the rest of the targets, all bullseyes, before he returned to the landing. His breathing was a bit rapid due to the workout and his eyes furrowed upwards into a nervous expression that didn't suit his face at all. “Uh, how was that?” the white Rito said as he adjusted the bow on his back anxiously.

“Impressive,” Revali said flatly. “You aim is impeccable. Much better than I thought. And while your flying isn’t exactly graceful, you clearly can read the wind fairly well.”

Teba’s beak started to spread out into a smile, but he restrained himself and kept his expression flat. “Really?”

“Yes. I don’t see any reason to train you in archery as you obviously have mastered it.” Revali shrugged. “Though, there’s a lot I could teach you in flight.”

Teba gave a short bow and was trying his best not to smile again. “Thank you so much, Master Revali.”

The navy Rito smugly smiled. “You are very welcome.” He began turning away to walk inside and, without even thinking, said aloud, “Maybe I’ll even be able to teach you my Gale relatively soon.”

There had been footsteps following Revali, but they stopped when he said those words. He looked over his shoulder to see Teba standing there dumbstruck, a smile breaking through his stoic nature. His yellow eyes were wide, shining like two stars.

“You’ll actually teach me Revali’s Gale?”

“Why not?” Revali looked back ahead of him. “A hundred years ago I refused to tell anyone how it even worked. But now, I don’t see a reason not to. Maybe you’ll even teach it to your son when he’s old enough.”

The warrior behind him let out a loud, exasperated breath, and choked, “I’m so honored- are you sure you’re willing to teach me?

“Of course I’m sure. But you aren’t quite there yet. I still need to teach you how I personally read the wind and how I use it to my advantage when I fly.”

“R-Right.”

“Now, I’m not sure if you’ve already been told this, but you have to look at your surroundings to determine exactly how fast and in what direction the wind around you is blowing…”

 

~~~

 

Both Revali and his new pupil returned to Rito Village in the early evening before the sun even had a chance to set.

Revali was able to teach a good amount in just a few hours time. And even while he wasn’t exactly kind and was quite harsh at times, this bright look in Teba’s eyes never faded.

They were about to part ways so that Revali could try again at getting some food, but he first wanted to run the things he had taught Teba by him to make sure he would remember.

“What was it that I said about mirages? The bending light rays?”

“You can use mirages to tell where the wind will blow and how hard.”

“Right! And what do you remember about canyons?”

“Canyons can-” Teba started to answer, but he was suddenly interrupted.

“Champion Revali, sir!” a familiar voice chirped behind them, making the two of them stop and turn around to look behind them.

Standing there was the tiny messenger girl from the other day, holding her hat in her hands instead of wearing it to show respect as she had before. Beside her was a young warrior that Revali just barely recognized. He was the yellow and grey one that was skinny to a freakish degree yet had a pudgy face; the one that Teba glared at just because he had looked so starstruck seeing the Champion. He looked like a tower next to the terribly short and stout girl beside him.

“I hope that you can forgive me for running off so rudely the other day,” the small mint avian girl said, apologizing for the time she ran off when she was about to say something after handing Revali the letter from Zelda.

Revali gave her a tiny smile to assure her it was alright as he said, “no, no. It’s fine.” He was about to add something else when Teba beside him stepped forward to shout, his gravelly voice cutting through the air.

 _“Meelo!_ Why aren’t you at your post?!” Teba barked at the yellow Rito.

The Rito known as Meelo jumped, feathers ruffling, and then he squeaked, “s-sorry, sir. I-”

“Don’t worry, Teba,” the little Rito said as she stepped in front of Meelo. “I was the one that dragged him away from his post, and I managed to find someone to take over. It’s only for a couple of minutes.”

Teba furrowed his brows at the girl for a moment and then crossed his arms and looked away. “Cuckoo birds always causing trouble,” he grumbled underneath his breath, just quiet enough that Revali could barely hear him.

Revali’s beak crinkle into a deep frown.

He hated that word, and he couldn’t believe that he just said that right next to him.

Teba regarding those kids as ‘cuckoo birds’ reminded him of his own childhood when that slur would constantly be thrown at him no matter what he did. The very thought that that way of thinking was still running rampant in his home made his very blood boil.

Back then they always would liken him to the cuckoo bird, the bird that lays its eggs in other bird’s nest and leave it to them to raise their young. The terrible brooding parasite.

His parents had abandoned him; dumped him on the other villagers before flying off to who knows where, leaving him behind.

Like a parasite.

While he tried his very best to get by without a proper family when he was a child, ‘cuckoo bird’ was spat in his face, reminding him that he didn’t belong to any family. That he was a drain on the village’s resources. That his own parents were failures in simply raising their own and he would just taint other families with his lineage of negligence. That somehow it was his own fault that he was abandoned and left to fend for himself.

As he grew up he learned to ignore it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

He had to work twice as hard as anyone to become a member of the community and five times as hard to gain respect because of that word.

If it wasn’t for Koni and Kezul taking him in, Revali would have killed himself trying to prove to everyone, including himself, that he had worth. That his parents were foolish to leave him behind.

There were many things that he missed about the old Rito Village, but the term ‘cuckoo bird’ certainly wasn’t one of them.

Memories of his childhood came flooding back to him when he heard 'cuckoo bird', making him breathe smoke. He looked to Teba and was ready to snap, but a little voice interrupted his gloomy recollections and brought him back.

“There was just something that…” the mint Rito started before she grabbed Meelo’s arm and pulled him forward, making him let out a quiet cry in surprise. “... _Meelo_ and I wanted to tell you.” Her orange beak was cracked open in an innocent smile, while her friend looked flustered.

“M-Meezuli...please...can I just go back?” Meelo whimpered quietly down to her, making her twist her head up at him and furrow her brows.

“No!” she hissed up at him.

Meelo blinked and frowned at her, the corners of his beak wobbling.

“Alright, alright,” Revali said, starting to grow impatient. “What is it, then?”

The small green Rito, Meezuli, turned her head to look up at him, beak curling into a sheepish smile. “Ah, well...this is a bit personal…” Her dark eyes flicked to Teba and she raised her eyebrows at him, implying that he should probably leave.

Revali did the same, but Teba just looked back at him with a flat look on his face and didn’t move. Either he was too stupid to get the hint or refused to leave his new mentor’s side.

Revali just shook his head and looked back over at Meezuli. “That’s fine. Go on.”

The girl that had been so lively a minute ago quieted down and seemed nervous. She looked around to see if anyone was close by and then took a slow breath and squeezed her eyes. “I was abandoned by my parents, too, sir.”

Revali jerked, totally caught off guard.

He certainly didn’t expect that out of the blue.

“I was raised thinking that I was an outsider,” she continued, her eyes slowly opening and raising to Revali. “I honestly thought that I would never find my place in the village.” Meezuli squinted up at Meelo and elbowed him, hoping that it would make him talk. When he only looked over at her with wide, nervous eyes, she took a deep breath and looked back at Revali to say, “Meelo is in an orphan and it was the same for him.”

Revali turned his head towards Meelo, but the younger avian immediately looked down at the ground and fumbled with his hands. “Ah. I’m sorry to hear that,” Revali murmured.

Meelo said nothing in response, but his beak tightened.

Meezuli clicked her beak and scratched the back of her head, calling Revali’s attention back to her.  “When we were growing up, we only had each other and the stories about you. Even _if_ we both didn’t have a family and I’m puny and Meelo is…”

“...cowardly,” Meelo quietly finished for her, still staring at the ground in front of him.

Meezuli glanced up at Meelo, giving him a worried look. But he glanced back down at her with a little smile that said it was fine. She beamed back at him before bringing her smile up to Revali and continuing. “...we felt brave enough to believe in ourselves anyway, because of everything we heard about you.”

Meezuli’s smile brightened and even Meelo looked up from the ground to give Revali a soft smile. Revali felt himself return the smiles back to them.

“Because,” Meezuli started again. “If you were able to achieve something so great even after all you’ve been through, why couldn’t we at least try?”

Revali’s smile grew ever wider, but it wasn’t a prideful or egotistical smile; it was warm and heartfelt.

“So, that’s why,” she continued. “That’s why I joined the postal service and Meelo made the...interesting...choice to be a warrior.” She looked around, scratched the back of her head again, and took another deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

She was unable to finish her sentence for a few beats, but eventually, she managed to speak after she held out a wing to touch Revali’s hand. Her dark blues eyes rose to meet Revali’s emerald ones, and she said, “Champion Revali, thank you for giving my friend and I hope.”

The Champion blinked down at her and the corners of his beak deepened into an even warmer smile.

His heart was so warm then that any sort of cocky remarks were the farthest thing in his mind. Instead of using this moment as a chance to brag, he asked her, “Your name is Meezuli, yes?”

“Wh-? Uh…” The simple question startled her and it took her a moment to answer it. “Y-Yes, sir.” Meezuli brought her hands together to fumble with her hat, her eyes avoiding Revali’s in a nervous haze.

“Meezuli,” Revali said warmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. Her big eyes flicked up to his. “Thank _you._ Thank you for telling me.” He put his other hand on Meelo’s shoulder and added, “you, too, Meelo.”

Both of the younger aves looked up at each other and then back up at Revali with massive smiles. Meelo simply nodded feverishly and Meezuli stammered, “o-of course, sir!”

Even though Revali had been given many compliments in his lifetime; many, _many_ compliments; somehow the idea that he inspired other children that were abandoned by their parents to have confidence in themselves was better than any compliment he had ever received.

Learning that other cuckoo birds like himself had been using him as an inspiration made Revali feel such a way that he never knew was possible. He was used to pride but had never truly been proud, and it made him overwhelmingly happy.

Revali had honestly forgotten that Teba, who was looking back and forth at Revali and the duo with his face scrunched up in confusion, was even there. He was totally enveloped in the heartfelt conversation until piss-eyes ruined the moment by leaning closer to Revali and muttering in a slightly worried tone, “Master, you’re not seriously a cuckoo bird, are you?”

Revali’s smile faded and instantly turned into a scowl. He threw his head to Teba and snapped, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I _am!_ Do you think less of me now, Teba?!”

Teba took a step back, avoiding eye contact with Revali. Putting his wings up defensively, he stuttered, “N-No! Of course not! It’s just...no one even knew. We had no idea you were.”

“Well, pardon my rudeness, Teba,” Meezuli started. Her own smile was gone as well, but a light glare took its place instead of a full-blown scowl like Revali. “But us ‘cuckoo birds’ knew. We’ve always known! Everyone used the Calamity as a chance to erase the fact that Revali had no family because I’m sure that it would have been so _shameful_ for our Champion to be a ‘cuckoo bird’.” She took a step closer towards Teba and put her hands on her hips as she continued to berate him. If Revali wasn’t upset, he would’ve found it hilarious seeing such a tiny little Rito barking up at someone like Teba. “But for the last hundred years, orphans and abandoned kids alike have kept the real stories of Champion Revali alive, retelling the stories to each other over the years to keep our heads up even when nobody would accept the truth. Everyone just told us that we were ‘dirtying’ his good name. They all had made up a different version of Champion Revali to honor, but we kept the real version of him alive because _we_ wouldn’t be ashamed.”

Revali turned his head away from Teba, shook his head, and let out a harsh sigh. “I can’t say that I’m surprised that they would do that. As I was growing up, everyone had always given me a hard time about being a ‘cuckoo bird’. Even when I was the best archer and flier in the whole village, they would still hassle me about it.” He shrugged. “Of course they acted like that never happened and I wasn’t one when I started to gain respect. I’m just surprised that the Rito still hold that traditional way of thinking. I know it hasn’t been _that_ long, but I was hoping it would be gone by now.”

Teba gulped and took his eyes off of Meezuli to look back over at Revali. “Sorry, Master Revali. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. And don’t apologize. You didn’t know,” Revali said, giving Teba a look that was somewhat soft, but his eyes were still hard.

Something came to mind that made Revali look over at Meelo, who jolted at having those emerald eyes on him. “Say, Meelo. How do you fair with a bow?” the Champion asked with a small smirk.

The yellow avian blinked wildly and stuttered uselessly. “M-me? I um...I-I...ah…”

“He’s not good, but he fairs well enough,” Teba finished for him. “He’s not much of a fighter, but we keep him around because he’s actually a really great battle strategist for a-” Teba cut himself off, about to say ‘cuckoo bird’ probably, but then corrected himself. “...kid.”

Meelo’s face brightened at having his superior give him such a compliment. Meezuli nudged him and grinned up at him.

“I see. So, you’re a smart one then?” Revali asked. Meelo only rubbed his wing and nodded with a tiny smile and shrug. The Champion glanced at Teba a bit deviously and then back over at Meelo, his smirk widening. “Why don’t you train with Teba and I?”

The other three avians stared at Revali with wide open eyes. Meezuli was beaming from ear to ear and both Meelo and Teba looked absolutely shocked. _“What?!”_ the older Rito shouted in unison with his underling.

“You can _not_ be serious,” Teba griped. “I can’t be trained alongside my subordinate. Especially _Meelo.”_

“Oh, stop your whining,” Revali said while rolling his eyes. “If he still isn’t good with a bow, then learning from the best would do him good.”

“I-I don’t know, Champion Revali. He’s right,” Meelo bleated. “You should train someone more capable...I would just be a waste of your- ow!” The young warrior’s self-deprecation was cut short by Meezuli elbowing him in the ribs. He rubbed where she hit him while squinting down at her.

“Enough of that! You need to be more confident in yourself, Lo!” Meezuli scolded.

“You don’t have to hit so hard, Zuli…” Meelo squeaked, still rubbing at what would likely turn into a bruise later.

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Teba started up again and turned towards Revali, his thick brows furrowing into his peepee eyes. “I can’t be trained next to Meelo. Just look at him!” He motioned towards the boy in question, who was still rubbing at something that should’ve barely hurt with a pained expression.

He _was_ pretty scrawny.

And wimpy.

“Look,” Revali sternly said, grabbing the white avian’s arm and forcibly turning him so they faced each other. “I’m just going to be training him in archery. Nothing more, nothing less. You, however, are being trained in flight. I’m going to teach you everything I know, hopefully even to the point where you can create an updraft like I can. You two aren’t on the same level, I know that. I’m just going to be teaching you very different things. You don’t have anything to worry about, so _cool it.”_

Teba’s eyes softened and he slowly nodded. He let out a low grunt as a reply, saying that he would allow it.

Revali whipped back around to face the two younger Rito. “It’s settled then. Both you and Teba are going to become my pupils.” With one finger, he pointed at Meelo, who, as expected, jumped and ruffled his feathers. “We’ll be training at dawn every day from now on so you don’t have to abandon your duties. We’ll start tomorrow, so you better get a good night’s rest tonight.”

Meelo’s eyes widened as far as they would go, the dark grey twinkling. His gray beak curled into a massive smile before he frantically nodded. His nods became so intense that they became small bows. “Th-Thank you so much, Master Revali! I won’t let you down!”

The corners of Revali’s maize beak curled into a smile.

 

Revali had no idea why he was resurrected for the last few days since his revival. Without the threat of Ganon and with Link not even having any memories of him and wanting nothing to do with him, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was even a reason for him being alive anymore. Why he didn’t just stay dead.

That’s why he was so incessant on taking Meelo under his wing even though he had just met him. When he heard that he had been an inspiration to others like him, it made him feel hopeful and like his life could still _matter_. Even now.

He could have an _actual purpose_. He could mope around and think himself useless and hopeless, but now he was making an actual difference, even if it was just teaching two people.

He could help someone that grew up the same way that he did; he could help him succeed and flourish as his own mentor had in the past. Revali knew himself how hard it was to succeed when everyone looked down on you,  so he was ready to take Meelo in even though he had only just met him. Empathy is a strange thing.

If Revali became successful in training Teba, if we were able to pass on what he had learned and discovered about flying and manipulating the air and wind around him, then he would no longer be the best anymore. He would no longer be the only Rito in history to create their own updraft. He would pass on the torch.

And, although Revali wasn't exactly fond of Teba so far, he clearly deserved that torch. He was strong, smart, and a leader, and with that power, he could become an even better warrior for their people.

If anything, he was better suited for it than Revali ever was.

In the past, the very thought of not being the very best anymore would have angered Revali and he would have fought with every ounce of strength he had left to stay the best until he dropped dead.

But if the last one hundred and one years taught him anything, it was that that wasn’t what really mattered.

It never was.

  
  
  


S I D O N

 

_My ghost, where’d you go?_

_I can’t find you in the body sleeping next to me._

_My ghost, where’d you go?_

_What happened to the soul you used to be?_

  


Both Link and Sidon collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

The only light they had was the soft moonlight shining through the windows and the gentle glow of the luminous stones that crafted the outside of the castle. It wasn’t much to see with, but through lots of practice, they could easily find each other’s bodies and maneuver even in darkness.

All that was heard were the pair’s labored breathing, hauntingly echoing around the room. Link’s breaths were more quiet and rapid as he laid sprawled on top of the sheets while Sidon’s breaths were loud and deep.

Sidon looked over at Link, hoping to see his lovely smile shining in the dim light, but instead, he was only staring at the ceiling with an empty expression. It made the Zora prince fold the corners of his lips down into a frown.

Usually, their lovemaking was wonderfully lighthearted, and even passionate at times, though that wasn’t the case that night.

Of course, it _felt_ nice, but…

It was empty.

Maybe even angry.

“Was...Was that good?” Sidon hesitantly asked under his breath, partially hoping that Link didn’t hear him.

His hopes were dashed when Link replied, “it was fine.”

Sidon turned his head to look at Link with his frown, which made the Hylian laugh.

“I was just kidding,” Link said with a laugh, nudging the Zora’s arm. “It _was_ good. I just wish that you didn’t constantly ask if I was okay.”

Sidon’s brows furrowed. “But I want to make sure that you are. I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want you doing something you don’t want to-”

“You’ll know when I’m not okay,” Link interrupted, looking Sidon square in the eyes. The moonlight reflected his sapphire eyes, revealing the irritation hiding behind them. “You don’t have to ask me so much.”

Sidon hated that look. His frown relaxed into a flat line and he mumbled a “well, alright” like he always did when Link was frustrated with him.

They laid there side by side, still catching their breath for a few minutes without a word.

Eventually, Sidon broke the silence by blurting, “So I’ve been thinking about Revali and your memories…”

Link threw his head to look back at the Zora beside him, one eyebrow raised. “Seriously? You’re bringing this up right _now?”_

“I know, I know. But just listen.” Sidon rolled onto his side to face Link. “Nothing too worrisome is happening in the Tabantha region- at least nothing that requires Revali’s help. And you’ve barely left the Domain in the last couple of months…”

Link squinted. “What’re you saying?”

“Well, there are still some worrying clusters of monster populations outside of the Zora, Gerudo, Goron and Rito lands, which everyone is most focused on....”

“Sidon…”

“And since everyone else has too much on their hands to deal with the remaining monsters…”

Link’s face folded into a disgruntled expression.

“...What if you traveled around with Revali to take care of them?”

Link’s harsh look deepened. “You're kidding.”

Sidon smiled sweetly, trying to motivate his fiance into accepting his proposal. “Why not? You two would not only be helping Hyrule but also be rekindling your friendship _and_ bringing back some of your memories!”

“I already told you a billion times, Sidon! I don’t want that!” Link’s voice rose in anger as he briskly sat up.

The Zora prince sat up after him as he said, “I don’t think so. I think you just don’t _want_ to want to.”

The Hylian scrunched up his nose. “Huh?”

“I’m saying that I think you do want to, but you’re just scared of such a radical change so you’ve convinced yourself that you don’t want to remember or have anything to do with Revali or the others.”

Link’s frown morphed into a hard smile. “I thought you were my fiance, not my psychologist.”

Sidon shrugged, another grin spreading out on his lips. “With as much time I’ve spent with you, I could easily be both.”

Link let out one loud laugh, which reverberated around the room. “Ha, well clearly not, because you’re wrong.”

That wasn’t true. Just from watching Link’s expressions change and watching his eyes flick around, it was obvious that he was starting to doubt himself and maybe rethinking his opinion on the matter. Even if he didn’t realize himself that he was starting to change his mind, Sidon could tell otherwise just by studying his face.

At least, he thought so.

When the Zora looked at Link without another word, Link laid back down and wrestled with the blankets to get underneath them.

“Link, I love you. You should really try to mull it over. I think it would be good for you. Even if you don’t want to go with Revali, you really should leave the Domain. You’ve been cooped up here far too long,” Sidon said softly as he slid under the blankets that Link just struggled to get under.

“I don’t _want_ to mull it over. I don’t _want_ to see Revali, I don’t _want_ to get my memories back, and I don’t _want_ to leave. And I am _not_ going to change my mind.”

Sidon was quiet for a moment, but managed to murmur, “Alright, whatever you want.”

“Thank you. I know you just want to help, but-”

“No, I understand,” Sidon interrupted. “I’m sorry for prying as always.”

“It's fine,” Link said as he pulled up the blanket so that it covered half of his face. “I’m tired. I’m going to go to sleep now.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

And with that, Link rolled over onto his side, facing the windows, his form outlined by the moonlight and glow of the luminous stones from outside.

Sidon nustled further down into the blankets and began to cuddle into Link. It almost burned to cuddle with Link when he knew that he was mad at him, but he would only feel worse if he faced the other direction. So he wrapped his arms around his smaller frame and held him close, listening to his soft breathing slow.

The Zora’s eyes began to flutter shut as sleep started to encompass him, but then his desk in the corner of the room caught his eye. He saw his quill in its stand, a bottle of ink beside it, and he saw the stacks of paper. For some reason, he found himself staring at the desk, enthralled by it in his groggy state until something came to mind.

A letter.

He should send a letter.

He couldn’t wait to write it tomorrow though. The two of them were attached hip to hip almost every waking hour, so Sidon wouldn’t be able to write it without Link catching on. But there was a chance that he could break away long enough to send a letter if it wrote it right then.

Link didn’t understand how much better he would feel if he just _tried harder_ to get to know his old friends again. Sometimes he was so stubborn.

If Link wasn’t going to reach out, Sidon would make him.

His eyes flicked down to Link, planning out what he was going to write as he waited until he knew that Link was asleep for sure.

After some time, Link’s body relaxed more and his breathing slowed considerably. Sidon inched slowly backwards away from his fiance’s sleeping body and lifted his arms steadily. He rolled off the bed onto his feet and made his way over to his desk.

Taking great care to be quiet, Sidon opened the bottle of ink and took the quill out of its stand as he grabbed a piece of paper with his other hand. He dipped the end of the pen into the ink, and, with only the soft light of the luminous stones glowing outside, he began to write.

 

_Dear Revali,_

_It’s Link._

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhhh oh my god i am so relieVED that i finally was able to write Meelo! too bad this chapter sucks! sorry, buddy!  
> he is very very very important to the story so be sure to remember him :)


	8. Turn Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali starts to train both Meelo and Teba and then gets a letter from Link.  
> Revali has a nightmare unlike any he's ever had before.  
> Mipha is unsure of what to do in this predicament.  
> Link is feeling an array of emotions he neither wants nor likes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is out....early..........how delightful! I'm actually not too unhappy with this one so that's pretty cool. Just wish I could write scary scenes well! Or just write well in general! My god!  
> i wrote most of this in one day...yeeeeehaw!
> 
> watch out lads..........................we got some...gore..in this one....  
> sorry if there are any mistakes. i m very. tired.
> 
> The poem used for this chapter is A Way Out by Lang Leav, and the two songs used are Hati Hati by Amira Othman and Walking the Cow by Daniel Johnston.

R E V A L I

 

_Do you know what it is like,_

_to lie in bed awake;_

_with thoughts to haunt_

_you every night,_

_of all your past mistakes._

_Knowing sleep will set it right—_

_if you were not to wake._

 

Snow drifted down from the sky gracefully that early morning while Revali trained his new pupils. The sun spread its light further as it rose, causing the snow to twinkle and shine. The air was stiller than usual, which was good considering that too much wind would prove to be hard for an amateur like Meelo to shoot an arrow at his target effectively.

Teba had taken out a target with a foldable stand that his son frequently used for Meelo to practice on flat ground by the range. He had a long way to go before he would be able to shoot from the air, much less in a strong updraft. The kid was terrible enough on his own two feet as it was.

An archer’s feet in the perfect stance were supposed to be parallel to each other, yet Meelo’s knees insisted on turning inwards, the feet following. The rest of his body was stiff and rigid, and he was shaking like a leaf. There were just too many things wrong with his stance that Revali wondered if he even listened to him when he tried to correct it. He continuously made the exact same mistakes when he got back into position.

He had to agree with Meezuli’s statement from the other day. It certainly was ‘interesting’ that someone so neurotic would insist on being a warrior.

They had been training for no more than an hour when Teba had taken a break to cook some fish on the bonfire for breakfast. Revali took the opportunity to put all his focus on Meelo, hopeful that he would get through to him if he gave him his undivided attention.

“Keep your feet straight, Meelo,” Revali said while he strode over after Teba left to make the food. “And your arm isn’t supposed to be stiff. Relax.”

Meelo shifted his feet, but his arm didn’t relax at all. His eyebrows furrowed and his beak tightened into a nervous expression. “R-Right,” he muttered. “Sorry.”

Revali let out a hard chuckle. “You have no reason to be sorry. Stop apologizing so much.”

“Sorry,” Meelo blurted and then whimpered, “I-I mean…”

“Do you always have this much trouble with a bow? Or are you only nervous because I’m the one teaching you?” Revali asked with a smile that was almost a smirk.

“Y-Yes?” the young Rito answered, but his voice went high like a question. He stepped out of his stance and lowered his arms to rub one of his wings anxiously. “I get so stiff and shaky with a bow, but honestly it’s the same with anything else, too. I’m not much better with a spear.” He gulped loudly. “And yes, it d-doesn’t exactly help that you’re the one teaching me.”

Revali’s smirk widened and he chuckled again. “I’m sorry that my presence makes you so nervous.”

“...Sorry.”

“Oh, for Hylia’s sake cut that out. It’s not like you’re the only one,” Revali said, crossing his arms. His eyes flicked up to the hut for a quick second before he shuffled closer to Meelo to say quietly, “you should’ve seen how anxious Teba was yesterday. He was sputtering like a total buffoon whenever I said anything to him.”

Meelo’s face relaxed as he glanced over at the hut and looked back at Revali with a tiny smile. “Really? Teba?”

“Yes. Teba. If I can make someone like him crack, then you have no business feeling bad about being nervous. I just want you to try and be comfortable enough to hold your stance correctly. So try to relax and take a deep breath, alright?”

“Alright,” Meelo choked before closing his eyes and making an attempt at breathing deeply and slowly. Even though it was a poor excuse for a calm breath, he did seem to relax a bit.

“Now I’m going to ask you to get back into your stance and I’m going to make some adjustments. Is that alright?”

“Yes! Of course,” Meelo squeaked as he stood back into his gods awful stance.

Revali walked closer to see everything that was wrong with the stance. “Rotate your elbow straight up and down,” he said as he reached out for Meelo’s bow arm to grab it and correct it. The younger Rito jolted and his feathers instantly ruffled at the Champion’s touch. “You can bruise your inner elbow if you don’t, plus it’ll be harder to hit your mark.”

Meelo nodded, tossing his braids around wildly, and his beak crinkled in awkwardly. “Right!”

“And gods, don’t hold it so tightly. You have to keep everything loose, but steady.”

“Right,” Meelo muttered again as he relaxed his tense grip on the bow.

 _“And,”_ Revali began as he inched ever closer to poke at the hand that his student just relaxed. “The bow is supposed to rest _under_ the pocket of your thumb. Not on it.”

Meelo then looked to Revali with a puzzled expression, not knowing what he meant by the 'pocket of the thumb', and then something happened.

A strong and sudden sense of déjà vu hit Revali like a tidal wave.

 

More than a hundred years ago, Link had made that exact same mistake when he was helping him with archery, and he looked up at Revali with that exact same expression.

He almost forgot about that night.

He almost forgot about that night when he helped Link, who thanked him out loud afterward.

It was the first time that Revali had ever heard that angelic voice.

_“Revali? Thank you.”_

 

_Link-_

 

“Um, what...what’s the pocket of the thumb exactly?” Meelo asked innocently, his quivery voice bringing Revali back.

The Champion shook his head, shaking off the memory of Link but making it seem like he was shaking it in disappointment. “Give me your hand. I’ll show you what I mean,” Revali said flatly while extending a hand out.

“O-okay.” Meelo obliged and put his right wing in Revali’s, his gray and yellow feathers fluffing up even more as he did so.

Revali immediately pointed to the place he was talking about on Meelo’s hand, and he gulped before speaking. “This is where your bow should rest on your hand. Remember that.”

Keeping his eyes on his own hand, Meelo nodded vigorously again.

Just like Link had.

“Alright, the fish is done,” Teba called from the hut, stepping into the middle of the doorway and motioning them inside.

Both Revali and Meelo whipped their heads up to look at him, Meelo still not removing his hand from Revali’s.

Teba looked towards his subordinate and stared at him in a very odd way and rose his eyebrows at him. The boy’s crest flattened on his head as they exchanged a look that Revali didn’t understand at all.

Meelo quickly snapped his wing out of Revali’s and sputtered an “okay” before scrambling towards the hut, struggling to put his bow on his back all the while. As he followed Meelo, Revali’s eyes went back to Teba.

The older Rito crossed his arms as Meelo passed him to get inside for breakfast, the two of them exchanging that weird look again.

After the young warrior was out of view and in the hut, Teba finally met Revali’s eye, and all he did was crinkle his beak, give a slight shrug and turn inside.

 

Hm.

 

~~~

 

“You’re joking.”

“Why would I joke about that?” Revali said with a frown as he flew back to the village next to Teba after their training session, Meelo dragging behind. “It’s true.”

“Why would you ever want to sleep there though? It’s barely even a house anymore. It’s totally in shambles,” Teba questioned, raising an eyebrow. “And I would think that it would be hard being there after everything.”

The Champion sighed. “It is. But it’s still my home. Aside from the Flight Range, it’s all I have left from my life before the Calamity.”

Teba tried to hold back an uncomfortable expression but it fell through. “I guess that makes sense. Weren’t you staying with the Elder before?”

Revali rolled his eyes and sighed again. “Yes, but I couldn’t stay another night there. He snores very very _very_ loudly.”

The white Rito stifled a laugh. “Yeah, well, that’ll do it.”

The two of them were nearing one of Rito Village’s landings, so they slowed down and then landed. After landing, Teba turned around to see how far behind Meelo was and let out a low groan when he realized just how far back he had been. “Gods, that kid…” he mumbled and then turned to Revali. “If you wanted, Master, you could stay at the Flight Range with me for now. I understand that you want to be closer to your past, but you really shouldn’t be sleeping at that scrap pile.”

Revali blinked at him. “Really? You’re staying there?”

Teba avoided Revali’s eyes and crinkled his beak while rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, well...temporarily at least.”

Revali opened his beak to ask about his wife and his son, but then it clicked.

_Oh._

_Ohhh._

So instead, he nodded. “I suppose I’ll take you up on your offer then. I’ll stay with you _temporarily.”_ He gave Teba’s back a hard pat and smiled up at him.

Teba smiled back, the corners of his beak lifting upwards out of his melancholy look. “Great! I’ll see you tonight then.” After he said that with an eerily cheerful tone, he turned around to look at Meelo and his smile instantly fell. “For the love of Hylia, Meelo! Hurry on up! We’ve got work to do today!”

Finally nearing the landing, Meelo cried out in between hard breaths, “S-Sorry, sir! You’re both...so...fast…!”

“Well then learn to catch up, then!” The older warrior snapped, crossing his arms as he watched his underling finally stumble onto the landing while breathing heavily. “Come on,” he growled as he turned around towards the village, not giving Meelo another second to rest.

“Yes, sir!” Meelo twittered with a gulp and started to hustle to follow Teba. He stopped in front of Revali to bow and stammer, “th-thank you again for today, Champion Revali! See you tomorrow!” and then ran away before Revali could get a word in.

Revali turned around and watched Meelo run after Teba and chuckled to himself. He crossed his wings and tapped his fingers, beginning to ponder what it was that he could possibly do for the rest of the day. But that question was quickly answered for him when he heard a familiar, chipper voice speak out behind him.

“Good Morning, Lo!” Meezuli chirped to her friend Meelo.

“Mornin’, Zuli,” the young warrior replied, his voice still a little hoarse from breathing so hard.

The little mail carrier’s voice approached Revali as she called out behind her, “good luck today!”

A far away voice called back a “you, too!”

Revali fully turned around to see the tiny little mint green Rito girl walking up to him, smiling wider after he turned around. “Good Morning, Champion Revali!”

The Champion couldn’t help but smile a little as he greeted her. “Meezuli, hello. What brings you here?”

She shifted through her bag that hung off her shoulder, looking for something. “I actually have a letter for you! Just give me a moment.” Meezuli continued to shuffle around in her bag. Was there really so much mail in there that she had to dig around for a single letter?

“What? Really?” Revali stuttered, taken aback. “Do you know who it’s from?”

The girl shrugged as she continued her search. “Not a clue. As I was making my rounds around in Lanaryu, a Zora guard gave it to me. It has a Zora royal family seal on it though if that helps.”

If it had that seal, then really it could be anybody.

Mipha…

Zelda…

That stupid snot-nosed Zora numbskull…

Or even…

Revali’s heart clenched.

 

_Link._

 

“By the way,” Meezuli said, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration as he kept shuffling through her bag. “I talked to Unathi earlier today. She’s been busy with a patient in a settlement nearby for the last week.”

Oh, right. That medic from before. He almost forgot about her.

“Oh? How is she?”

Meezuli snorted. “Good, I guess. Mad and rude as always. But she wanted me to relay a message.” She stopped for a second to look up at Revali and squinted, mimicking Unathi’s constant scowl. _“‘You tell that no good show-off that I wish I had a chance to scold him for being so reckless. He could’ve died doing all those stunts! Tell him that he better stop overexerting himself or he’ll have to answer to me!’”_ Meezuli spoke in a raspy, nasally voice, imitating Unathi’s own before she interrupted herself with her own laughter and looked back into her bag to find the letter. “You better do what she says. Unathi may have the ability to heal, but she is much more skilled in the practice of hurting, so to speak.”

Revali snickered at Meezuli’s mockery. “Well, alright. I’ll try and be careful then. I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.”

The little ave laughed along with him before her smile grew as she retrieved a letter sealed with the Zora royal family crest out from her bag. “There! Din almighty, I thought I lost it.” Quickly, she held up the envelope for Revali to take. “Sorry about that!”

Revali took it hesitantly and stared at it, suddenly feeling uneasy. “Thank you.”

“No problem!” Meezuli chirped as she closed her bag and started to skip backward. “I have a lot of letters to deliver, but I hope to see you soon, sir!”

“Take care, Meezuli,” Revali said to her, eyes fixed on the envelope in his hand while he waved.

She waved back and then turned around to skip to her next delivery.

And just like that, Revali was left alone with the mysterious letter.

The thought of opening it terrified him. He had absolutely no idea what awaited him inside that envelope, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

It could’ve just been Zelda or Mipha thanking him for coming and hoping that they’ll see each other soon, or it could’ve been Link wanting to make up.

It could’ve been nothing, it could’ve been everything.

But he knew that he would never know unless he read what was there in his trembling hand.

It took him an entire minute before he gained the courage to open up the envelope, and when he did so, it was very slowly. It took him even longer to unfold the paper inside.

As soon as he read the first two lines, his heart stopped.

 

_Dear Revali,_

 

_It’s Link._

_I’m sorry for the way that I had acted before and I hope that you can forgive me. I suppose I was just frustrated because I had made plans for the future that were thrown out the window when you and the other Champions were resurrected. Now, I know that that is no excuse, but that is why I am writing you an apology._

_I apologize for acting so coldly towards you, and I hope you will still want to rekindle our friendship despite my behavior._

_There are some groups of monsters spread out around Hyrule still that need to be taken care of. The other Champions have their own matters to deal with, and from my understanding, Tabantha doesn’t have any issues like the other Champion’s homes. Knowing this, I wanted to invite you to work with me to kill off the remaining monsters as you have no responsibilities binding you to your village. I thought that perhaps it could bring us closer again and will give me the opportunity to right my wrongs._

_You are under no obligation to accept, but I do ask you to consider it._

_I hope to hear from you soon,_

 

_Link_

 

Revali’s chest tightened.

From the way the letter was written, there was absolutely no way that it was actually Link. It was all too pompous when Link seemed like he would write simply and plainly. Whoever wrote under his name was clearly too dumb to actually try and write like he would.

Despite that, the letter made Revali’s heart beat fast. He read the letter over and over again, gripping it tighter every time that he did.

Even _if_ it was written by somebody else, there was still a possibility that he could have a chance to be alone with Link.

He could make him remember.

He could remember the times they shared before the Calamity.

He could remember how they were in love but too stupid to do anything about it until it was too late.

He could love him again.

Revali breathed hard and he gripped the letter firmly. He frantically looked up around the village before running and starting his search for a pen and paper to write his reply back to the fake Link with.

 

 

~~~

 

 

Revali was on Vah Medoh again.

The entire sky above was painted scarlet with black clouds whirling in a cyclone above him when he walked outside to where all the columns stood.

While the wind had always been rough as high in the sky as Vah Medoh was, it was uncharacteristically violent then and Revali felt like he was going to be swept off his feet.

Ahead of him, at the edge of Vah Medoh, he could see a very familiar figure. He continued to walk forward, seeing the person’s dirty blonde ponytail whip around in the brutal wind.

“Link!” Revali called out, his pace quickening as he rushed over to the Hylian ahead of him.

Then suddenly, something swatted him off his feet with such brute force that he was flung through the air and he tumbled across the hard, stone ground. Blood shot from his beak; the impact giving him a shocking pain that he was too familiar with.

He shakily sat up from where he landed, his newly broken rib popping and making him cry out in pain. More blood spewed from his beak and he coughed and threw his head over to where Link was, barely keeping himself up.

Link didn’t move at all. He continued to gaze out into the red nothingness, his hair flowing wildly.

 

_Turn around_

 

A loud, low hiss was suddenly let out in front of him, making him twist his head away from the Hylian. With a quick intake of breath, he looked ahead of him and what he saw made him crawl back into a nearby column, cowering like a pathetic coward.

There there was a massive monster that was a vile, sickening fusion of the thing that had ended his life in the past and of the Zora prince that was ruining his life in the present.

The creature was larger than both Sidon and Windblight Ganon and was slowly crawling at him on all fours like an insect. Crimson scales that speckled the beast flashed rhodonite and across its body were bulging growths that protruded from the skin and glowed a hideous orange. It smiled at him from ear to ear with a big gaping mouth full of long and sharp teeth that were too big for its face. It had two huge eyes that stared down at him, blazing a harrowing ultramarine.

With every tiny step the monster took, there was a creaking sound that echoed in the air. It cocked its head to and fro, and it jittered and snapped every time that it did. As it approached, it opened its mouth to speak, but its lips never moved. _“Do you really think you have the strength to defeat me?”_ it said, the voice a disturbing blend between Ganon and Sidon’s. _“You’re worthless. You’re all worthless.”_

With a shaking wing, Revali reached behind him to grab at his bow. But there was only air there.

The corners of his beak quivered as he started to turn around to run and fly away, but as soon as he twisted his torso there was a _‘thnk’_ from inside his chest and he crumbled to the ground with another cry of pain.

Behind him, the creaks continued and a malicious cackle wrung in the air. _“Trying to run away? Who would’ve thought that the Great Champion Revali was really just a weak coward?!”_ There were quick, earth-quaking steps accompanied by more loud creaks as the beast barreled towards Revali to lacerate him with extended claws, ripping and tearing into his flesh and bones.

Revali let out a scream so shrill that it left his throat hoarse. Thick tears leaked from his eyes and more of his blood shot from his beak. He could feel the all too familiar feeling of his life draining out of him with the crimson fluid.

Weakly, he turned his head to look at Link who was still standing completely still, staring off at nothing with his back facing him.

 

_Turn around..._

 

“Link…” Revali croaked and reached out a wing to the Hylian that was so close yet so so far away. His voice broke with a cough that rattled his insides and made him feel like he was about to break.

He didn’t see it coming until the creatures claws were already around him, squeezing him tighter and tighter to where Revali was sure his skin was going to burst and he would become a bloodied, gory mess. His bones cracked and split, tearing at his insides and rupturing his skin.

Instead of just finishing the job and killing him, the creature stared at him with those giant, swirling blue eyes and somehow its smile widened even further. _“If only you were stronger.”_

It picked up Revali and held him up dozens of feet into the air before hurling him back into the ground with all of its strength. The impact was so powerful that it cracked the stone beneath the Rito who had lost all feeling in his limbs but could feel his gashes and gaping wounds gushing blood. Through all of this pain, he managed to look back over at Link, though the tears in his eyes warped his vision.

Link still had his back facing him, ignoring everything that was happening behind him.

 

_Turn around..._

 

The ugly being snatched Revali back up by his legs and held him upside down in the air so that he hung limp like a turkey on a meat hook. Through his tears, Revali saw all the gore and bile that oozed out from his body and fell to the ground beneath him with a revolting _smack_.

 _“If only you weren’t so pathetic,”_ it sneered before rearing its arm up again and slamming the Rito’s lax body across a stone pillar. His body snapped into two, yet somehow he was still awake and alive, able to feel everything. A horrific, grisly and hellish sense of pain washed over him and enveloped him, but he remained conscious still. The only thing keeping him together was a broken spine.

From the ground where he lay in pieces, he lifted his head up high enough to look at Link again, his vision blurred with tears and blood. “L...Li...nk…” he gurgled through his own blood, reaching out his arms to slowly crawl to the man that kept his back to him.

 

_Turn around._

 

_Turn around!_

 

_TURN AROUND!_

 

 _“If only you hadn’t been so selfish,”_ the beast rasped behind him, but Revali swore it had said it in his own voice.

Revali’s eyelids felt heavy as he tried so desperately to crawl forward. He let them fall, leaving him in a darkness that he willingly embraced, hoping that it would end his suffering.

That was until he felt a sudden weight on his throat, causing his eyes to shoot back open.

Link was looming over him, his eyes swirling with the same electric blue as the creature that watched them from the nearby shadows with a smile. His foot was on Revali’s neck, applying pressure to his slit throat pouring with red.

The scarlet sky above blackened and the swirling clouds spun faster above them.

Link’s boot dug further into the gaping hole in Revali’s neck, making him squirm and reach out for the foot with weak wings. Link leaned further down until his face got close enough to Revali so he could see his eyes flaring with resentment and his face darkening with disgust.

“Why couldn’t you have stayed dead?” the Hylian spat.

Revali gasped for air, but nothing came.

“Why couldn’t you have just fucking stayed dead?!” Link screamed before kicking the ave’s body away with such brute force that he skidded towards the edge of Vah Medoh. While Revali was fighting for air and trying to hold on, Link walked to where he landed, close to the edge of the Divine Beast where only a neverending emptiness awaited below. He hunched over Revali’s body and grabbed his neck with both hands, clenching tightly to choke him. He held him over the edge, the vicious winds hitting the avian’s crippled body and tossing around Link’s beautiful dirty blonde hair.

“L..Li...Link…” Revali gagged; his vision turning completely white as death finally drew nearer again.

Then there was a flash, and suddenly the murderous face with electric blue eyes transformed into a beautiful, pained one with big, gorgeous sapphire eyes full of tears.

Link had been growling just a second before, but now he was sobbing and hiccuping. Tears fell from his eyes and onto Revali’s bloodied face.

 

“Revali, why did you leave me?”

 

~~~

 

Revali woke up with a start. He let out a pathetic yelp and sat up in the hammock he slept in that night at the Flight Range. He heaved in breaths that were so heavy, quick and deep that he barely got any air. His eyes were watery and they burned as if he had cried a lot.

As he was getting his breath back, he looked over next to him to see Teba, face contorted in worry. “Master! Are you alright?” The white Rito’s hand was on Revali’s shoulder, leading Revali to believe that he was what woke him up from his nightmare.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” Revali weakly choked out. “I’m fine.”

At that moment, he was glad that Teba had convinced him to stay at the Flight Range with him. If he had that nightmare when he was alone in the ruins of his old home…

“Good,” Teba nodded with a concerned smile. “I’m, ah, I’m sorry for waking you up. You were just screaming and thrashing around and I…”

“Don’t apologize,” Revali interrupted. “I’m glad that you did. Thank you.”

Again, Teba nodded. “Are you sure that you’re fine?” he asked as he took his hand off of the Champion’s shoulder.

 

_No. I am far from ‘fine’._

 

“Yes.”

“Is there anything that I can get you?”

 

_An arrow to the eye._

 

“No. I’m just going to go back to sleep.”

“Right,” Teba said as he stepped away from Revali’s hammock towards his own. “If you need anything, just wake me up.”

“Sure,” Revali murmured as he laid back down.

“Goodnight then. I hope that you’ll sleep better.”

“Thank you, Teba. Goodnight.”

 

M I P H A

 

_The wind whispers the feeling of love_

_But not as always_

_So this time I let my feelings go by_

_So you should be careful_

 

“You did _what?”_ Mipha snapped, bringing her teacup away from her lips so quickly and violently that it clinked into the saucer in her other hand. Due to her sudden movement, hot tea splashed out of her cup and onto her, making her take her eyes off of her brother to cringe in pain for a second. But it didn’t take long for her angry golden eyes to shoot back up to Sidon who sat across from her in a chair too small for him, nervously smiling at her.

“I was just trying to give them both a shove in the right direction!” Sidon said in a way that was both upbeat and nervous. “I don’t see how that can be harmful.”

Mipha brought a hand to her temple as she set her teacup on the stand next to her.

He didn’t understand.

If only he knew…

“You can’t meddle with them, Sidy. This is between Link and Revali and them only. It has nothing to do with you,” Mipha scolded, talking down to her brother the same way she had when he was little.

Sidon furrowed his brows at her. “But it _does_ have something to do with me. Link’s been especially irritable since your and the other Champion’s resurrections.” He lowered his eyes to the ground and brought his hands together. His voice got quieter when he added, “and somehow it’s...so much worse with Revali. I just want to help Link fix his relationships with you all. Some of my very earliest memories are of the Champions all being together; a band of heroes...a strong group of friends.”

Mipha’s face softened, but a small frown stuck as she remembered the good times her and her friends had before everything ended. Before Ganon had taken everything away from them.

She clenched her fists and said nothing.

Sidon’s bright, golden eyes rose from the ground to meet with his sister’s before he continued. “And I remember how close Link and Revali seemed to be back then. That was an especially distinct memory I had. So seeing them like this...I…” He faltered.

Mipha cringed again, though very slightly, when Sidon mentioned how close those two had been back then.

 

_If only he knew…_

 

She took a deep breath and leaned forward to touch her brother’s knee. “I understand. Thank you for caring so much, Sidy. It’s very sweet.”

Sidon softly smiled at her, his face lighting up again.

“But you really shouldn’t get in between them,” Mipha said shortly, her eyes hardening. “They have, or rather, _had,_ a...complicated relationship.”

The prince’s brows furrowed again in puzzlement. “Complicated?”

Mipha nodded as she drew her hand away and back to her teacup.

 

_They were madly in love with each other, but could never be together. I would even go as far to say that they were soul mates. They gave one another a reason to smile again, it seemed._

 

But how could Mipha tell her brother that? How could she explain to him just how dangerous it was for him to meddle in this? What was she, or anyone really, even supposed to do in this situation?

Sidon and Link seemed like they were happy, but gods, she couldn’t even begin to imagine how Revali must have felt. It was worse enough having Link not remembering her and being borderline rude, but waking up to find that the person you were in love with has no memories of you, treats you coldly, and is engaged to someone else…

That must be the definition of hell. It made Mipha more eternally grateful for her and Zelda’s reunion.

And it all was even worse since a part of her wanted Revali and Link to have that chance together that the Calamity took from them.

Did that make her a bad sister?

She gulped before leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her tea that had gotten cold. “And Revali is a complex character. Sometimes it’s best to just leave him be and let him figure things out on his own.”

 

_Poor Revali…_

 

Sidon’s face contorted into one of worry and regret, but when Mipha met his look with a sweet, reassuring glance, it fell.

“Don’t fret though, Sidy. I would be surprised if Revali even responded to the message,” the Zora princess cooed, a soft smile spread on her lips.

 

_He wouldn’t respond though, right? Revali is too smart to actually believe that it was Link writing him. And even if he did, he would crumble up the letter and toss it away._

_...Unless...he was desperate and heartbroken enough…_

_...Would he?_

 

Mipha pondered this in the back of her mind with the teacup held at her lip, but her question was soon answered by a furious blonde Hylian man with eyes like thunder and a crumpled piece of paper in hand bursting in through her bedroom door. “Sidon!” Link completely ignored Mipha’s presence and immediately stomped towards the Zora prince who jumped out of his seat and then cowered like a dog about to scolded. “What the hell is this?!” the Hylian shouted, holding up the letter. “Did you write to him _in my name_ when I told you several times that I wanted _nothing to do with him?!”_

_Hylia, please have mercy._

“Link. Link, I’m sorry,” Sidon said in almost a whimper. “I wasn’t thinking...I only had your best interests in mind…”

Link’s jaw clenched and he bared his teeth like a wild animal. “My _best interests?!_ Don’t you think that _I_ should know what my own best interests are?!” He gripped the letter in his hand tighter as his voice rose even higher. “I can’t believe that you would do this behind my back!”

“You know I would never mean to hurt you,” Sidon stammered as he reached out for Link. “I just…”

“No!” Link screamed as he slapped away Sidon’s hand. “I told you! I told you that I don’t want to be friends with him!”

Mipha’s face crinkled into an expression that was a mixture of anger, disgust, disappointment, and sadness.

Link was never so quick to anger before. She never even saw him angry. Of course, he had been irritated and frustrated at times, but he would never lose control of himself in such a manner. He had always been civil, compassionate, and understanding.

It had been more than a week and a half since she had woken up and met this new Link, but she wasn’t used to him yet, and she believed that she never would be.

Who was this that wore his face?

Mipha rose from her seat and set her tea on the stand next to her again. “If I may,” she began, making Link swing his head to her with huge eyes. He looked surprised to see her as if he didn’t notice her, even though he had literally just trespassed in her own room. “I can see how you would be upset with Sidon, Link. He has a habit of caring too much, which leads him to make such rash decisions.” She glanced up at her brother with a hard look that made him flinch, and then she moved her eyes to lay on Link. “That being said, you shouldn’t be so hard on him. He meant no ill will and sincerely believed that he was helping both you and Revali.”

Link turned his body to completely face Mipha and croaked, “I didn’t ask for his help.”

“Be that as it may, you have no right to scream at him like that,” she stated simply, causing Link to glare at her.

He glared at her with those sapphire eyes that used to hold such a warm kindness.

It was a shame.

“And I’m sure that this can easily be fixed,” Mipha went on it. “Surely, he-”

“Except that he accepted _your_ invitation!” Link interrupted, redirecting his dark scowl at Sidon.

The Zora princess blinked wildly.

Revali must have been in a darker place than she thought. She never would expect him to reply to that invitation, much less _accept_ it.

Was he really that desperate?

_Oh, Revali…_

Holding her hand out, Mipha blurted, “may I see it?”

Link gave a confused nod before walking over and placing the wad of paper in her hands. She frowned at the state the letter was in, which plainly showed just how little respect Link had for Revali. Still, she uncrumpled it, trying her best to smooth out the wrinkles so she could read what was in the letter.

 

_Dear Link,_

 

_Thank you very much for your letter. I accept your apology, though I have my own apologies to make._

_I also apologize for the way I had behaved during my time at Lanaryu. I was standoffish and cold to everyone, especially you. My resurrection has put me in a state of confusion and I was acting out. As you said, that is no excuse, which is why I feel the need to apologize._

_It is true that there is not much for me to do in Tabantha. There are a few monster problems, sure, but nothing that the village’s warriors cannot handle. I have even tried to ask if they needed my help, to which they said no. Though I am sure that’s mainly because of my stature as Champion, as everyone gives me an annoying amount of benefits and assures me that I don’t need to help out to the point where I feel like I am not allowed to do anything anymore. But I digress._

_I would love to join you on our travels to take care of those pests. It would give me something important to do._

_I do have two trainees of my own at the moment, but surely they can handle me being gone for a couple of days at a time. To be quite honest, eradicating the rest of Ganon’s foot soldiers and trying to rebuild our friendship is a higher priority of mine._

_Just give me the dates and locations whenever you’re ready and I will be there._

 

_Sincerely,_

 

_Revali._

 

Mipha’s face fell into a sad frown as she covered her mouth with one hand.

 

_Goodness’ sake, Revali…_

 

Mipha folded the letter neatly after she finished reading and looked up at Link who was watching her as she read. “I see. If you wanted, Link, I could talk to him for you and explain that this was a big misunderstanding.”

The Hylian’s face crinkled into one of pure fury and he gritted his teeth together again. Who that look was directed at, Mipha wasn’t sure, but he looked back and forth between Sidon and her with that ugly expression before he finally just let go. His face relaxed into a tired and worried face, and Mipha could see just how exhausted Link was. Big bags hung under his eyes that looked almost bloodshot and even his hair was messier than usual. “No, that’s okay,” he croaked and then swallowed. “I...I’ll go.”

Sidon threw his head to Link to show off a toothy grin, making it totally clear that he was delighted with Link’s decision.

But Mipha…

Mipha wasn’t sure how she felt.

She wanted to grab on to Link and scream at him not to go for her brother, but she wanted to smile at his decision for Revali.

She knew that Revali and Link being alone put Link and Sidon’s relationship at risk, but she wanted Revali and Link to have the romance they never got to experience.

What was she going to do? What was she going to say?

She started to chew on her nails nervously, going back and forth on what the hell she was going to do in her mind.

But it didn’t matter anyway, because her brother and Link both ignored her and faced each other. Sidon asked over and over if his fiance was sure, while Link assured him that he had accepted his fate and will go.

This wasn’t going to end well.

But what was she supposed to do?

  


L I N K

 

_Try to remember_

_But my feelings can't know for sure_

_Tried to reach out_

_But it's gone_

_I really don't know how I came here_

_I really don't know why I'm staying here_

 

Link was terrified.

Absolutely terrified.

He kept remembering those feelings that he felt in that memory he had gotten the other day at the training grounds with Revali.

He could almost feel the way his heart stopped and stomach flopped when those emerald eyes fell on him.

Just remembering that memory brought a pink to his cheeks even though he hated Revali with every fiber of his being.

But why? He didn’t understand. There was nothing to like about him. The few memories that he had gotten during his journey to defeat Ganon made him out to be a cocky jerk with no manners.

And that’s who he was. That’s all he was.

But something told him differently. A lingering feeling settled in his stomach when that memory returned to him, and whenever he found himself thinking of Revali, even for a fleeting moment, that feeling would turn into butterflies.

He felt a disturbing draw to the thought of Revali despite his burning hatred for him.

And that scared him.

He didn’t understand the way he was feeling. He wanted it to go away.

He had Sidon.

He was with Sidon.

Just him and Sidon.

Just him and Sidon.

Yet, there was need- this _craving-_ to be around Revali. It was like a painful itch that needed to be scratched.

Originally he was going to pretend like Revali never existed and wait for these awful feelings to subside, but Sidon...that _fucking idiot..._ just had to-!

He had been furious at first.

But that itch….

Link, alone in the bedroom he shared with Sidon, unfolded the letter from Revali to read it again. It was like his brain turned off for a minute because when it came back on and he realized what he was doing, he was tracing the words with his fingers and smiling to himself.

 

 _‘_ ** _Revali wrote this!’_** whispered in the back of his mind like a soft, warm breeze. **‘** ** _Revali wrote this!’_**

Link gritted his teeth and his entire body clenched in unadulterated fury. In a fit of rage, he violently crumpled up the letter into a wad again.

 

_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_

 

He threw the ball of paper at the wall and watched it bounce off and onto the ground. It rolled back to him, teasing him.

Link let out a dry sob, held his knees close to him, and held himself together tightly; crumpled up just like that letter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey.........................you should.......join.......my botw server.....it's been......quiet lately (i m not innocent in this jakghagj) here's...........[a link](https://discord.gg/KjFGqfD).............


	9. Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda comes in and helps Link write a letter to Revali when he's having trouble.  
> Meezuli drops in to give Revali a letter from Link, giving him a date for their meeting.  
> Meelo doesn't want Revali to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about this being so late hahahah  
> Happy Halloween, lads! sorry that this is tewwible...lol. i just wanted to get this out asap after the radio silence  
> Lyrics are from Breathe Me by Sia, Gone by Butterfly Effect, and Nicotine by Panic! at the Disco.

 

 

 

L I N K

 

_Ouch, I have lost myself again_

_Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found_

_Yeah, I think that I might break_

_Lost myself again and I feel unsafe_

  


_“No, not good enough either,”_ Link thought to himself as he crumpled up the letter he had written and threw it behind him.

On the ground behind his chair was at least a dozen rolled up balls of paper; all of which being failed attempts at writing to Revali. No matter how many times he tried, they kept sounding unintentionally rude, overly polite, way too casual, a bit desperate or just….plain weird.

He had been going at it for at least two hours, even though this should’ve been an easy task. It just felt like this letter had to be absolutely perfect, but the more thought he put into it, the weirder they turned out.

And he couldn’t give Revali the wrong message.

He couldn’t.

After he tossed the letter, Link picked up his quill and went to dip it into a bottle of ink, ready to try yet again. But, of course, when he took the pen out, he accidentally tipped over the ink bottle. It poured ink all over the paper he was about to write on as well as all the sides and corners of all the other blank pages he had stacked underneath it.

He let out a guttural, rough, frustrated grunt before he set the bottle back up and knocked all the papers off the desk with a huff. The ink-stained papers slowly fell to the ground, joining their crumpled brethren that Link had thrown behind him in exasperation.

Link put his head in his hands and let out a long groan.

This wasn’t working. Nothing was working.

This was all so fucking stupid.

He jumped and lowered his hands from his face when a soft hand laid on his shoulder. Slowly turning around, he saw that it was Zelda, giving him a small smile.

No.

Not her.

Not now.

She took her hand off of him and said sweetly, “Link. What seems to be the matter?”

Link’s face remained flat and he unemotionally blinked up at her from his chair. He flipped the hair out of his face and then licked his lips before he replied, “Nothing. I’m trying to write Revali back, but I keep messing up.”

There was a flash of something sly on her face as her smile widened just enough so that it was noticeable. “Ah, yes. The letters. Mipha told me about what happened.” Her eyes fell down to her feet, where failed letters and stained papers scattered around her on the floor. “I’m surprised that Revali wrote back. Are you upset that he did?”

“Not upset at _him,_ no,” Link said as he twisted around his loose strands of hair that weren’t long enough for his ponytail, which was a total mess. “I’m angry at Sidon for doing that behind my back.”

Zelda bent down to grab one of the wads of paper that lay beside her feet. Link wanted to yell at her to drop it and go away, but he was just too tired to, so he watched as she stood back up with one in hand and began to unfurl the paper.

“Is a part of you glad he did though?”

Link squinted at her. “Why would I be glad?”

The princess stopped, stood completely still as if she was thinking hard about her answer, and then shrugged. “I’ve heard you haven’t left the Domain very much for a long while. I thought that maybe a part of you would be excited to finally have a reason to leave.” Zelda stopped uncrumpling the letter again and looked straight at Link. Shakily, she gulped and took in a short intake of breath before she spoke. “I know that after that day I told you that I didn’t need your help anymore, things sort of fell apart.” Her eyebrows crinkled upwards and she frowned. “That was when you started to barely leave the Domain, wasn’t it? After…” She faltered and went silent, not wanting to finish her sentence.

Link turned completely around in his chair so he could face her. He crossed his arms and rested it on the top of the chair. “After our fight?” Link asked simply, face still void of emotion.

Zelda’s mouth slowly opened and Link could just barely see her eyes start to water. Her mouth closed and she looked away.

 

~~~

 

Several months ago, the two of them had gotten into a fight after they failed a mission. Link couldn’t remember what it was; whether it was something as simple as personally shipping goods to a village or something as dire as a rescue mission, he couldn’t remember. But it didn’t matter what started it. What mattered was what happened.

He did remember that it had been raining hard and their clothes were soggy and muddy. He could also remember the way that Zelda looked...how she looked so angry and furious that her eyes seemed to cloud up like the skies above her. He remembered the way she bared her teeth at him like a predator, a mixture of tears and rain streaming down her face as she screamed at him.

“You are _nothing_ like the Link I once knew,” she roared. “You are _selfish._ You are _obnoxious._ You are _boastful._ You are _mean._ You are _stubborn.”_ Her hands clenched into tight fists as she screamed into the rain, “You are a _coward!”_

Her voice seemed to echo around them; the trees became silent as the wind that had been thrashing them around a second before ceased.

Link’s eyebrows narrowed. His jaw clenched so tightly that it felt like it was going to shatter and he could feel flames blazing behind his eyes. His breath felt like smoke as his chest rose and fell.

 _“I’m_ a coward?” Link gruffly asked, then he threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. The rain pattered onto his exposed face, drenching his cheeks, and raindrops clung onto his eyelashes.  “You think _I’m_ a coward? After everything I’ve done? After literally killing Calamity Ganon and saving _you?!_ Even when I didn’t even remember you, or even _anything?!”_ An ugly, baffled smirk spread on his lips as he let out a scoff. “I risked everything to fight that thing and save your ass, and yet you have the audacity to call _me_ a coward?!”

“I do!” Zelda cried. “I do have the audacity! It doesn’t matter what amazing feat you pull, Link, because I can see you right down to your very core.” She stepped toward him, kicking more mud onto her boots and onto Link’s trousers. Her index finger jabbed him in the sternum multiple times so hard that it hurt. “And you? You are a coward through and through.”

Without even thinking, Link grabbed Zelda’s hand and squeezed it, making her let out a small whimper from surprise and pain. “I risked my life for you, you ungrateful-”

“And what for?!” the princess shouted as she writhed to escape his grasp. She managed to tear her hand away and she held it close to her. “As you said, you didn’t, and still don’t, remember me. You barely even remembered _Hyrule._ So what was the point? What was the point of all of that?”

Link opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. The rain from the heavens above continued to fall on his face and he suddenly could feel just how cold it was. It made him shiver while he blankly looked down at the girl who glared up at him, fury bubbling up inside of her.

“Just as I thought,” Zelda croaked, and took another step towards Link, who took a step back. “You don’t even know what you’re doing. You just hop from one thing to the next, looking for instant gratification. It’s all the same to you. Nothing matters as long as you get something out of it- whether it’s a rupee or compliments.” She reached forward and pushed him, and for some reason, Link let her even though he easily could have dodged it or grabbed her hand again. He stumbled backward through a puddle and almost fell. “You know what you are, Link? You’re _empty.”_  

That gave Link a certain feeling of fear that he couldn’t explain, and it got worse when she repeated herself.

“You’re empty.”

That had made something inside of Link stir. Maybe it was because she had been right. She had been right about something that Link tried not to see about himself. Something he tried to pretend wasn’t true when he knew for a fact it was.

“You’re totally right.” A sick smile returned to his face. “I’m empty! There is nothing left inside of me and absolutely _everything_ about me is an act. You’ve got it right on the nose there, princess.”  Crossing his arms, his fake, theatrically upbeat voice lowered to something not too short of a growl. “And you? What about you then?”

Zelda lowered her eyebrows at him, her bright jade eyes flicking across his face, studying him.

“It was your fault the Calamity happened anyway,” Link snarled. “If you connected to your ‘powers’ sooner, then none of it would’ve happened.” This time, he took a step forward, but Zelda did not move. “The Champions wouldn’t have all died and we wouldn’t be here in this _fucking_ rain right now!” He raised his hands up above him to motion up at the rainstorm that still fell on them, looming over the princess as he did so.

All of the color and emotion drained from her face as she looked up at her former knight with wide, glassy eyes, but then all the wrath came back onto her face tenfold. Her eyebrows folded into her eyes, and her face had turned completely red as the fire that blazed in her heart. Still, she did not move and simply quaked, “Link, I would appreciate it if you took that back.”

“No,” he growled and leaned further down until their noses were almost touching. “Maybe your obedient piss-baby Link would, but this Link isn’t a liar.” Again, his jaw clenched so tightly that it was close to cracking. “You were weak. It was your fault that the Calamity happened. You. Are. Weak.”

Zelda bared her teeth again and her jade eyes went wild. She let out a blood-curdling shriek before she brought her hand up and struck Link across the face with all her strength. Link almost lost his balance and staggered around on his feet, the woman looking down at him breathing smoke as her hands clenched tightly at her sides. “You don’t think that thought haunts me every day? Every waking hour?”

Her boots splashed in the mud puddles as she made her way to Link who was still tottering around and holding the place she slapped him. Using his lack of balance to her advantage, she grabbed him and pushed him onto the ground. He landed in a large puddle but made no sound as she continued to yell and step toward him.

“You don’t think I know that if I had been better, that I could’ve prevented the Calamity from happening?!” She stood in front of him, her hands balled into tight fists again as her shouts started to crack with sobs. “You don’t think I see my friends’ faces every time I close my eyes and am reminded of my failures?”

“Z-Zelda, I-” Link began to stutter but was promptly interrupted with more shrill cries.

“I tried, Link! I tried so hard to be the person everyone wanted me to be. I did everything I could, hoping that Hylia would have some mercy on me and extend her hand out to me.” Thick tears flowed from her eyes and snot oozed out of her nose, her voice getting clogged by more sobs. “But I failed! I wasn’t good enough! I couldn’t save anyone! Their blood is on _my_ hands. Hyrule fell because of me.”

“Th-that isn’t true,” Link stammered as he stood up out of the mud. “I might not remember much, but I do know that you saved me during the Calamity…”

“Yes, of course! How could I forget!” It was Zelda’s turn to let out a manic laugh. She shook her head, her wet hair whipping around her. “My powers came _just_ in time to save one single person! And now he is nothing but a heartless coward. Oh, glory be to Hylia!”

Link’s temporary compassion fell as he furrowed his eyebrows and glared once more.

 _“But you were able to seal Ganon for an entire century to protect Hyrule all by yourself while I was sleeping,”_ He should’ve said. _“That is amazing within itself. Maybe you weren’t able to prevent the Calamity, but you kept future generations safe.”_

But he didn’t.

Why for the love of Hylia didn’t he?

He really was just a piece of shit.

Instead, he snarled, “Listen, you little bitch, do I have to remind you again? I fucking saved you and Hyrule. If you didn’t protect me back then, then who knows what-”

“Don’t you call me that!” Zelda screeched. “Don’t you _dare_ call me that!” She swung her arm back to slap him once more, but Link caught it out of the air and held it tightly. The fury that distorted her face fell and she let out a small gasp.

“What are you going to do? Have me arrested? Throw me in the dungeon? Tell your daddy on me?” Link’s face contorted into an extreme grimace as he again lowered his face toward hers. “The castle is in ruin. Everyone who served you is dead. You are a princess of _nothing._ All there is left is me, your eternally devoted knight.” 

It was then that Zelda broke. There was no fight left in her and she totally broke down into a mess of tears, howling cries, and mucus. “Y-You’re right. I...I have no place...in the world now.” She collapsed, and the only thing keeping her on her feet was Link’s tight grip on her arm. “B-But I’m...trying to make up for my mistakes. I’m...I’m trying to fix a land that I broke. But it’ll never be enough. _I’ll_ never be enough.”

She was in hysterics, babbling on incoherently while she wept and wailed. All she needed was to be held, to be embraced as she cried, and be given calming whispers of consolation.

That’s all that Zelda needed at that moment. To be given comfort and support, despite what she had said to him.

But what did Link do instead?

He let go of her arm, sending her down into the mud puddles below her. It didn’t even seem like she noticed, because she kept howling despite being dropped into chilly, muddy water and muck.

Then he turned around and left her there by herself in the rain and mud; he left her there to bawl all alone in the middle of the road, her wails echoing behind him as he left.

Gods, why had he done that? To this day, he still had no idea how he could’ve done something so heartless, proving that he was everything Zelda said he was.

If only he could go back and give her the solace she needed- then maybe things would have been different now.

But no. Instead, they had an awkward meeting with each other a week later where Link made a rotten excuse of an apology that he didn’t even mean.

Zelda held her face in a tight, fake smile and told him that they need not work together anymore. That he had done enough for Hyrule and it was time to retire from his responsibilities. And while that was a feasible excuse, it was clear that she was, in reality, sick of him and his shit. She didn’t want to be around him anymore.

But what was he supposed to do then? His life would become meaningless if he had nothing left to do, even if he still didn’t understand why he did it. He tried to tell her that he was fine; that he didn’t need any rest and could keep going, but she merely shook her head.

“It’s fine,” She had said. “It’s fine.” Her voice was sweet and kind, but there was only a sense of disdain and anger behind it.

They had held a stare then that said a million words before Link broke it to get up and leave.

How different would things have been if he just would have held her? Would he have ended up latching onto Sidon and living in Zora’s Domain? Would he have even become engaged to him?

He would never know. Instead, he acted like that fight in the rain had never happened and somehow, he managed to convince himself that that was true most of the time. That Zelda had relieved him only from the goodness of her heart, not from the animosity she held on him after their...altercation.

What would Sidon think of him if he told him what had happened? What would _everyone_ think of him?

Only Zelda herself knew Link’s true nature.

How he was really nothing but an empty, angry, heartless man.

He was lying to everybody else. Even to his fiancé.

 

~~~

 

Finally, Zelda nodded. “Yes, after our fight.” She wiped her eyes casually, though it was obvious she was wiping away oncoming tears to keep any from escaping. “I know that you haven’t been doing much at all since then. I’m sorry for everything. I was so cruel to you.”

Link looked away and shook his head. “No. You have no reason to be sorry.” He put his hand over his mouth and tapped a finger on his cheek for a moment.

Ever since then, he had despised Zelda. He even had a weird distaste for her presence before then, too. Sure, she had said things that made him furious, but he…

There was something about the way she came into the room and the way that she had looked at him that made him feel at ease- as if he was actually safe for the first time in weeks. That he could be totally honest with himself as well as her, even with what happened.

She came in with such a peaceful air to her, obvious that she wasn’t intruding in his space as an enemy, but as a friend. And still, his first reaction was wanting to bark at her to go away.

There was no need to keep his guard up in such a hostile way.

They had been friends once.

They had been close once.

And yet…

“Zelda, I’m the one that should be apologizing. I should never have said those things to you.” With a huge intake of breath and hands clenching, he added, “If anyone was being cruel, it was me. I-”

Holding a hand out, Zelda interrupted him with a genuine smile on her face. “There’s no need. I’ve since forgiven you. And you were right back then, though I didn’t want to hear it. We both said things that we shouldn’t have. I only hope that you can forgive me for what I said. I just wanted you to know that I have no ill will towards you. I was afraid that you thought I hated you after that.”

No.

No, that wasn’t fair.

She had only spoken the truth to him, while Link...he…

He nodded his head slowly instead of protesting.

Zelda replied with a solemn sort of smile and then looked back at the crinkled up ball of paper she still had in her hands.

Much to his surprise, the overwhelming need to scream at her subsided and he only watched blankly, even though she was sticking her nose somewhere it didn't belong.

She finally unfolded the letter and her eyes glazed across it quickly while she read. Suddenly she stifled a snort and brought her hand to her mouth to hold back some giggles. “No offense, Link, but this is very funny.”

Link’s eyes narrowed. “Thanks.”

“You sound so terribly needy. Plus, your grammar is horrendous. Revali would have torn this thing to pieces-”

 _“Hey!_ ” Link exclaimed and leaned forward to rip it out of her hands swiftly, then held it close to his chest. “I know it’s awful. Don’t nitpick it.”

Zelda snickered and then grabbed another one off of the floor and started it read it out loud, despite Link’s shouts of protests and attempts at grabbing it out of her hands from his seat.

 

_Dear Revali,_

_Thank you for youre letter. But for your information, it wasn’t me that wrote to you. That was actually Sidon. I would have never written to you in the first place. But Sidon did. So now here we are I guess._

_Sidon was right about there being a bunch of monsters still running around. I guess it would be best if someone took care of it. Everyone else is busy with there own things except you and me. So I guess it would make sense if we did that together. That would be good._

_It would be really nice to see you again and make up for the way I acted. Maybe we could try and be friends again. People have told me we were good friends before. Maybe things could be that way again. That would be nice._

_I want to see you again._

_I really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really…_

 

“Those certainly are a lot of ‘really’s,” Zelda said after she got to the end where Link had realized this letter was not salvageable.

“Why do you think it was on the floor?” Link snapped while he got up from his seat and ripped it out of Zelda’s hands. “I’ll admit. I’m having a really hard time with this. Everything is coming out awful.”

Zelda pursed her lips playfully. “Would you like some help?”

Link blinked down at her.

“Writing letters can be very hard,” she continued. “Especially if you’re writing to someone like Revali.”

Link squinted and ever so slowly answered, “Sure. Just...don’t look over my shoulder while I write, okay?”

The princess nodded to reply, so Link sat back in his chair and found a piece of paper that had managed not to get ink on it from the spill.

Zelda sat on the corner of the bed, and as soon as Link had a quill in hand at the ready, she began.

“Dear, Revali. Thank you for your letter…”

  
  
  


R E V A L I

  


_Now I just want to go home_

_Carried by all that was ever known_

_Held in these hands if I must I will stand_

_Given these promises_

  


Almost two weeks had passed since Revali sent out the last letter to Link, or rather, who posed as Link. He was unfathomably lucky to find that Meezuli was still in the village by the time he had finished his poor excuse for a letter, so he was able to promptly send it out to Lanaryu.

For the first few days afterward, he had found himself staring up at the sky every so often, hoping to see the tiny mail carrier flying back with a letter just for him, even though it was absolutely _improbable_ for her to be back with a letter so soon.

At first, Revali was so anxious and totally restless for the reply that if he spaced out, he would find himself thinking about Link and looking intently at the sky above him. He would even lay awake at night wondering what the letter would say; whether it would be an apology for a misunderstanding, a date and time for a meetup, or a page full of insults...that is, even if he would receive one at all.

But soon, impatience became boredom and boredom quickly became indifference. At least, Revali had _told_ himself that he was indifferent; that he didn’t really care whether that no good Hylian twerp wrote him back or not or if he even talked to him ever again.

No, he didn’t care. He didn’t care at all.

But even so, there would be those few seconds when a memory would come to mind while he was out at the Flight Range with Meelo and Teba. Memories of the little moments Link and Revali had together there when he was teaching him archery over a century ago.

There seemed to be echoes of him everywhere. Revali would look towards the boulders and almost see Link in the air, using the paraglider after a successful shot with a proud grin spread on his lips. He would look over at the bonfire and almost see Link sitting next to it cross-legged, stirring what would be their meal with a serene expression.

Once, Revali, just for a moment, looked up at the roof and he swore he saw Link sitting up there, gazing out into the mountains with a soft smile on his face, before turning his head towards Revali to smile even wider. Thankfully, it went away after Revali closed his eyes and shook his head, but it didn’t make it any less daunting.

He didn’t care.

He didn’t care.

 

~~~

 

Even with his immaculate teaching, Teba still had a very hard time gathering what Revali was teaching him about flight. Though, to be fair, a lot of it went against everything that Rito were taught about from the second they hatched.

Hatchlings had it pounded into their heads that one was supposed to respect the wind and it let it carry them, and to fly was to adapt to the wind’s decisions. However, during his time of testing and discovery, Revali found that that was _not_ the key to becoming a true master of the sky. On the contrary, one has to learn how to control the wind and make it adapt to _them_ instead.

Truthfully, it had taken years for Revali to completely comprehend this concept even though he was the one that had come up with it. Through trial and error, he was able to create a new flying style, unlike anything anyone had seen. He slowly figured out this new style of flying that he could call his own and it took an ungodly amount of time, considering he was all alone in it and he had to wipe away everything he had been taught since day one, just like Teba had to do now.

 

It seemed like Revali had finally gotten through to Meelo, as the young Rito started to fix and adjust his stance on his own without any help. He had even managed to hit a target from a sizable distance away, though, granted, it was nowhere close to the center. Still though, it definitely showed growth.

Meelo had twisted around to look at Revali with big eyes and an even bigger smile. His smile was totally full of pride and glee; it was a look that was unfamiliar on Meelo’s face, but very befitting for him.

It made Revali himself grin, and he knew that he had made the right decision in taking Meelo as a pupil.

 

~~~

 

“Mushroom skewers again, Meelo?” Teba grumbled after he and Revali entered the hunt for their breakfast break, then took a skewer off of the bonfire. “Can’t you make anything else?”

Last week, the three of them decided that it would be fair if they took turns preparing breakfast, and, for the last three times it had been Meelo’s turn, he made mushroom skewers.

“Y-Yeah…! I can make other things!” Meelo stuttered. “It’s just easier and-”

He was interrupted by a scream followed by a loud crashing sound erupting from the landing. Meelo, Teba, and Revali all swung their heads to look, seeing Meezuli face down on the floor, scrambling to get up. Teba stifled a hard chuckle and Meelo started to sputter a giggle, his crest perking up. Revali, in turn, rose his eyebrows at the little Rito and the corners of his beak crinkled into a smirk as she finally got her footing and briskly stood up.

She stood up with her beak holding an awkward smile and she adjusted the hat on her head, unaware that the tufts of feathers on her forehead were sticking out in all directions. Brushing herself off and checking her mailbag to make sure it was closed, she laughed and chittered, “Oh, wow, that was embarrassing! I totally forgot about that updraft and came in a little too hot.” Nervously, she rubbed the back of her head and let out an uncomfortable snicker.

“I thought your job was flying, but I guess you’re just a cucco,” Meelo stammered between giggles as Meezuli made her way into the hut.

The girl stopped in her tracks and her brows snapped together. “Zip it, Lo!” Meezuli squawked, pointing a finger in Meelo’s direction angrily. Meelo stopped laughing, but his beak was still cracked into a smile and his crest was held up high.

Meezuli turned her attention to the Champion, her playful glare replaced with a charming beam. “I have a letter for you, Revali, sir! From how enthusiastic you were about sending that letter, I figured you’d want this one right away, so I came straight here!”

Revali’s heart jumped.

A reply?

Alright.

Maybe…

Maybe he actually did care.

Meezuli walked further into the hut and fumbled around in her bag to produce a letter, again sealed with the Lanaryu royal family crest. She held it out to Revali and he took it with an embarrassingly shaky hand. “Thank you, Meezuli,” Revali choked out after gulping. His thumb brushed over the seal, and he felt all the bumps and grooves in its shape.

Meezuli nodded her head, making her tight braid bounce around wildly. “No problemo, sir!” Her dark eyes flicked to Meelo’s and she walked closer to him and then ripped the mushroom skewer he was about to eat off of out of his hands and tore a mushroom off with her beak to eat. “I’ll be taking this as payment,” she said through her chewing.

“Hey!” Meelo yelled and his crest that had been up with delight flattened against his head. “Zu! That’s mine! Give it back!”

Instead of obeying, she ripped off another mushroom and chewed it especially loudly; her beak clicking noisily. “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you _insulted me,_ eh?”

Meelo whined incoherently like a toddler, making Revali chuckle while Teba only continued to eat his own skewer with a face that looked both annoyed and entertained. The younger warrior tried to grab his meal back, but Meezuli was able to dodge him with ease and was able to continue eating more as she did so.

“Are they always like this?” Revali asked Teba before taking the first bite of his own skewer.

Teba rolled his whole head and sighed. “Yeah. The two of them are always like that. All day, every day, since they were hatchlings. It’s so tiring,” he explained and then went right back to eating.

The Champion let out a small scoff. “Just a typical lover’s quarrel then?” He muttered mostly to himself before opening his beak to take a bite of another mushroom.

However, he froze with his beak still hung open, because somehow both of the younger Rito heard him and, freakishly in sync, they swung their heads to him with a horrifying look of disgust plastered on both of their faces. Their faces scrunched up to a point, though after a moment Meezuli broke her horrible look by throwing her head back and laughing.

 _“Me?!_ With _Meelo?!_ Ha, never in a million years!” Her head fell back even further to howl with laughter, taking her whole body with it. “Can you even imagine? To be honest, I would rather shoot myself in the eye!”

Meelo’s disgusted look quickly fell into a simple frown. “Wh-What? Am I really that bad?”

Meezuli’s laughter was contagious, and Revali’s chuckles rose to a light laughter. “Oh, wow. My mistake, then.”

“And besides,” the little mint avian started as her guffaws lowered to small twitters. “Meelo is-”

Meelo stopped her from finishing her sentence by hastily reaching out and clamping her beak shut with his wing. She tried to resist and open her beak to continue, but he would only grip her beak tighter each time she tried.

The Champion rose an eyebrow. “What?”

The yellow-headed Rito’s crest flattened even more on his head, his jaw clenched, and his eyes went wide. Meezuli kept struggling out of Meelo’s grasp, but due to her being small and weak, she continued to fail.

“Meelo doesn’t swing that way,” Teba said gruffly to finish Meezuli’s thought and then swallowed.

Immediately, Meelo let go of Meezuli's beak with the frightful look of a deer. The girl stumbled backward and rubbed at her beak painfully, squinting up at her friend who stammered and murmured uselessly. “U-Uh...I...um..I-I…”

Revali tilted his head back and let out an _“Ohhh…”_ before he crossed his arms and turned the corners of his beak upwards into a smile. “Calm down. There's no reason to get so worked up.” He shrugged. “I'm the same way.”

The anxiety that twisted Meelo's face melted and his eyes sparkled with what could only have been both relief and joy. “Really?” He chirped.

“Really?” Teba also asked, though with an ugly dumbfounded look on his face and a couple of half-chewed mushrooms in his beak.

The Champion nodded, smirking at both of their reactions. “Yes. I'm gay.” He side-eyed Teba with one brow up as if to ask _“Is that alright with you, Teba?”_

Meezuli, also with a sparkle in her eye, feverishly nodded and put a wing on her chest. “Oh, I am, too!”

“Wait, wait, wait. That can't be right,” Teba said while holding his wings out in front of him, stopping everyone. “There's no way. I can't _actually_ be the only straight one. That's statistically impossible.”

Revali, Meezuli, and Meelo simultaneously turned their heads toward Teba, the edges of their beaks set in a hard line with their eyes intensely boring into him.

Teba did nothing but look back and forth between them, slowly tearing off a mushroom and gnawing on it.

 _“Anyway,”_ Meezuli started and handed off the mostly eaten skewer to Meelo, who looked at it with a frown. “I really should get going. I have maybe about five billion letters to deliver in Tabantha in the next few days.” She adjusted the strap of her bag and then reached up to adjust her hat again.

“Alright. Thank you again, Meezuli,” Revali said.

“Of course! I'll be in Rito Village for about two days, so if you want to send a reply as soon as possible, just find me before then and I'll take care of it.”

Revali nodded to reply and Meezuli twirled around towards the landing and strode to it, extending her wings to fly.

“I gotta skedaddle. I’ll see you guys around.” Once she got to the landing’s edge, she looked over her shoulder and smirked at Meelo. “Catch you later, _lover,”_ she added before hopping off the side for the updraft to carry her into the air. It most certainly was not seamless, as she underestimated the current again and it tossed her around like a leaf in the wind. She squawked shrilly and unintelligibly until she finally got a handle of it and zoomed off.

Meelo twirled the skewer in his fingers and pouted at the sight of it. Solemnly, he took the last piece of Hylian Shroom and chewed it with a frown. Teba had just finished his own and set the empty stick beside him on the floor.

Revali’s attention fell to the letter that he clutched onto and he brushed the seal over with his thumb again. His unfinished meal was still in his other hand, so he held it out to Meelo with his eyes still fixated to the envelope. “Here, Meelo. Take mine.”

From the corner of his eye, Revali saw Meelo jump in his seat, his yellow and gray feathers ruffling. “A-Are you sure?”

Revali waved the skewer. “Yes. I’m not hungry so you can just take it. I need to read this anyway.”

The young warrior hesitantly obliged with a smile, took it out of his wing, and promptly started eating off of it a bit animalistically.

Once Meelo took it, Revali began to open up the envelope and slowly took out the letter that was inside. Even from just glancing over it, he could tell that this was something that Link had actually written himself. The handwriting was simple and a bit messy, and it wasn't written in such a pompous manner as it had been before.

He gulped, feeling his heart beat against his chest, and then he began to read.

  


_Dear Revali,_

 

_Thank you for your letter, although, I have to admit that it wasn’t me that sent you that last letter._

 

Well, of course. No shit.

Revali half-rolled his eyes.

 

_It was actually Sidon._

 

Revali gripped onto the letter tighter, wrinkling it as he internally seethed.

It should’ve been of no surprise that that big, stupid fish-fuck decided to meddle in-

 

_But, as angry as I was at him at first, I’ve realized that maybe he was right. Maybe it would be for the better if I made up with you after how I acted and hopefully we could go back to the way we were before the Calamity._

 

The way they had been before Calamity…

Back when they sat side by side and became flustered when they accidentally brushed arms.

Back when Link would fall asleep on Revali’s shoulder and his heart would beat a million miles a second.

Back when they exchanged loving looks that said so much without uttering a single word.

Back when they both had loved each other without even realizing it.

Back when the world made sense.

But Link didn’t know it had been like that. To him, they were friends at the very most and rivals at the very least.

Nothing more, nothing less.

That was very clear.

 

_That being said, I have agreed to work with you for now. It would be best if someone took care of all the monsters that are still running around Hyrule, and considering that we both don’t have a lot to do, it would make sense if we did it together._

_There’s a group of them by Lurelin Village. I’ve been told that the village is fairly new so you wouldn’t know about it, but it’s just northwest of Gogobi Shores in Faron and is just on the beach._

 

Oh for the love of Hylia! Why did it have to be in _Faron?!_ Faron was so hellishly humid, it most certainly would mess up his feathers.

He couldn't meet Link if he was going to look like an absolute _wreck._ Out of the question.

 

_There are bokoblins and moblins that have been hiding out somewhere and coming out to attack people. The villagers haven’t been able to find their hideout, so our job is to find it and kill them off so they won’t bother anyone anymore._

_I’m going to get there sometime early on the 16th. I’ll wait for you at the inn there, but if you’re not there by the end of the day, I won’t wait up and do it myself._

 

The 16th...that was a week from then.

A week.

A week until he could see Link again.

A week before he could have a second chance with Link.

 

_Hopefully I’ll see you then._

 

_-Link_

  


Revali stared at that last sentence for a good long while, unable to hold on to a single coherent thought.

‘Hopefully’? Was Link really hopeful that he would see him again? Did he want to?

Did someone put him up to this? Did he not really want to, but someone made him write this out and agree to go?

What if it was just Sidon writing again, but he actually grew a brain so he could properly impersonate Link?

Should he dress nice? Or would it be too obvious?

What-

Teba stopped the whirlwind of thoughts in Revali's head by asking, “What's it say? It has the Zora crest on it so it must be important, yeah?”

The sudden question almost made Revali jump out of his skin, and for some reason, he quickly folded the letter and shoved it back inside the envelope swiftly. “Yes. I'm being asked to help with a monster situation over in Faron in a week with Link.”

Meelo audibly swallowed what he had in his beak to meekly ask, “Will...you be gone for a while?”

“Hard to say.” Revali shrugged. “It could take a day. Or four. Maybe a week. Could even be more than that.”  His eyes went up to the ceiling and he huffed. “If it does take longer, I'll be sure to send you two a letter letting you know.”

The yellow Rito's face puckered into a sort of vague forlorn expression and he nodded.

“Alright. When you're gone, we'll keep coming here to practice,” Teba said and his eyes rose up to Meelo. “Maybe I'll even try to give Meelo some pointers myself.”

Meelo's beak tightened awkwardly and he blinked frantically. He didn’t seem to like that idea very much.

Revali managed to hold back a snort at his younger pupil's reaction. “That would be great. Thank you.”

A corner of Teba's beak curled up into a smirk as he snickered, “Are you going to 'wring his scrawny neck’ like you said you would?”

The navy ave stared blankly at Teba.

“You know, for breaking your bow.”

Oh.

Oh, he had forgotten about that.

Revali's feathers ruffled in fury as he remembered what Link had done to his Great Eagle Bow and he could feel his eyes burn with rage.

Forget about trying to start anew with Link.

He was going to kill him instead.

“As a matter of fact, I _am!_ Thank you for reminding me, Teba!” Revali screeched as he grinded the edges of his beak together.

The older man threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Good! Be sure to knock him around for that.”

Still gritting his beak, Revali fumed but tried his very best to keep his composure. “Nonetheless, it's about time that we get back to training. Meelo, I want to see how far away you can successfully shoot at your target and we can go from there. Teba, try to practice what I showed you.”

Both of the Champion's students nodded and got up from their seats, heading to their respective places.

  
  
  


M E E L O

 

_Cross my heart and hope to die_

_Burn my lungs and curse my eyes_

_I've lost control and I don't want it back_

_I'm going numb, I've been hijacked_

  


“Revali is going to be gone again,” Meelo said to Meezuli. “He said it could be somewhere between a couple of days and more than a week."

It was Meelo's afternoon break then; the sun was high and the breeze was soft and cool. Meezuli had asked him if he wanted to have lunch with her, and he said yes.

So together they sat on the edge of one of the landings, facing the distant mountains as they slowly ate the boxed lunches that Meezuli had prepared for both of them.

The girl was about to take a bite of a rice ball but stopped to look up at her friend curiously. "Really? Why is he leaving this time?" As she spoke, the grains of rice that stuck to the corners of her beak fell onto her lap.

“He said it was to take care of some monsters by Lurelin Village with Link.” Meelo shrugged and grabbed a rice ball from the boxed lunch beside him. “You know..the..the uh...Hero of Legend? That's his title, isn't it?”

Meezuli nodded, her cheeks full like a squirrel's after eating a rice ball whole. "Yeah. The Hylian guy that defeated Ganon a year ago." She swallowed and licked the edges of her beak for any remaining grains, then her brows rose at the warrior beside her. “You sound pretty upset about this.”

Meelo flinched and his chest tightened. His eyes went heavenward to avoid Meezuli's gaze and he tapped the rice ball in his hand. “I...I guess I am.” He swallowed nothing but air and added, “I really don't want him to go.”

Meezuli snorted and grabbed at the pieces of fruit in her boxed lunch since she had already inhaled the rice balls that had once been there. “Oh no, you've gotten really attached to him already, huh?”

The boy nodded, murmured a small “Y-Yeah,” and then took the tiniest bite out of his rice ball.

“How long has it been since he started training you? A bit more than a month?”

“Almost a month and a half, I think…” Meelo's eyes fell back down to Meezuli, and he wasn't short of horrified when he saw her giving him a hard look that looked especially strange on her soft face.

"Meelo, he'll only be gone for a bit. You've survived your whole life without him, so I'm sure you can handle a week."

That was the thing, though.

Of course, he had _survived_ eighteen years of being a 'cuckoo bird’ with no one but Meezuli and the unpredictable kindness of others in the village. He had gotten by, but his life was dark and dreary ever since his parents had died, which was something he could barely remember.

It was hard. It was hard being an anxious coward when the odds already pitted against you, especially if you weren't good at anything. He wasn't brave and daring like Meezuli, who, despite everything, found the courage to leave the village that looked down on her and search for a better life.

But Meelo couldn't.

He was too scared.

He was too scared to leave and so now he was stuck here, almost always alone with her being gone most of the time and being forced to deal with harsh words and prejudices of the other Rito all by himself.

It was hard.

But then something changed when Revali, the person that Meelo and Meezuli both wanted to be like since they were tiny, was resurrected. Meelo’s life was no longer dark and dreary.

It was the day when Revali finally found the strength to leave the Elder's hut and made his way down the stairs that things began to change. That day, Tulin had pointed him out to his father who Meelo was with at the time, making the young warrior look over as well.

And there he was.

There was the Rito Champion Revali, actually standing there just as the legends, poems, and songs described him.

 

_‘Feathers of the darkest night’_

 

Revali's feathers looked almost black, but when the sunlight hit them, it revealed that they were actually a gorgeous deep blue- just like the sky at its darkest hour.

 

_'Small of stature, but master of flight’_

 

Revali was indeed short, as the legends had emphasized. And though he was short and thin, it was obvious that he was strong from how toned he was. He was shorter than Meelo but definitely stronger.

 

_‘Wild eyes of emerald with a piercing and frightening gaze’_

 

It was incredible how bright Revali's eyes were. Even from more than thirty feet away, Meelo could see the emerald green that the old songs had spoken of. They were sharp and precise, and Meelo could feel his entire body freeze when, just for a fraction of a second, Revali's eyes laid on him that day he woke up.

The old song was right about his eyes holding a piercing gaze, but it was wrong about it being frightening, too.

Frightening wasn't the right word. It was more _exhilarating_ if anything.

Then when the Champion took to the sky for his bet with Teba, the air got caught in Meelo's throat and he was unable to breathe.

His flying was beautiful, and his updraft was nothing short of amazing.

Of course, it had been Meezuli's idea to talk to him and Meelo had fought her every step of the way. The very thought of him, a nobody, sharing the same space as someone so stunning sounded almost offensive to Revali’s reputation, and the last thing he wanted to do was bother him.

But Meezuli persisted and dragged him all the way to Revali.

He was even more wonderful up close. Meelo could see the way the emerald of his eyes twinkled with curiosity when the two of them suddenly appeared. Meelo could see the way the corners of his beak would curl up and his eyes would crinkle, never revealing a full smile but hinting that there definitely was one hidden there somewhere.

And when Revali put his hands on their shoulders and thanked them, Meelo nearly melted, and when Revali's bright emerald eyes looked into his own, his stomach twisted and flopped. Their Champion had touched _him..._ had looked at _him..._ someone that was either overlooked or kicked around his whole life.

And then he took him in. Whether it was just to piss Teba off or not didn't matter.  What mattered is that the most amazing Rito in history _wanted him._

He _wanted him._

He wanted to _help him._

Then the darkness and dreariness that was Meelo's life lifted and everything was bright and clear for the first time.

So yes, it had only been not much more than a month since Revali took him in as a pupil. But as far as he was concerned, it had been not much more than a month since Meelo's new life began.

He had survived the last eighteen years.

But he never lived a single day.

Meezuli was still looking up at him with that strange, hard look on her face, and after a long moment of silence, she repeated, “You can handle a week.”

Meelo looked away and back down at the boxed lunch next to him. “I..I don't…”

He could still feel Meezuli's narrowed eyes staring at him, studying his face as he spoke.

The young warrior let out a shaky breath and clenched his fists.

 

“I don't think I can.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is super duper late and i apologize profusely!!!!!!  
> i wanted to finish my long revalink oneshot [Traditions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16395074) for Kumoricon, so I had to focus on that. Plus, there was the convention, splatoween, and just a lot of homework to deal with in between. I'll try to get back to the regular schedule from now on, but I'm going to be working on getting a job so it may be hard to follow now, too.  
> either way, thank you so much for your patience!!! i love you!!


	10. Dream Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link leaves the Domain to go to Lurelin Village, so Sidon has to say goodbye.  
> On his journey to Lurelin, he crosses paths with Kass who gives him advice.  
> Revali arrives at Lurelin, not totally ready to face Link.  
> Link tries to come to terms with his feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god literally i am soooooO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG???? my life has gone from thing to thing, crisis to crisis the last month so things have been preeeetty hairy!!!!!!!  
> i wrote several pages but then realized they would fit better in the next chapter, so i had to write another scene for this one to make up for the cut in pages....but...i already got a head start on the next chapter so i hope i can get it out soon to make up for being so late!!!! GAHHHHH
> 
> Lyrics are from Ode to Sleep by Twenty One Pilots, May You Open by Yaima, Dream Sweet in Sea Major by Miracle Musical (which is also where the name of the chapter comes from), and Who's In Your Heart Now by Studio Killers.

 

 

 

 

S I D O N

 

_On the eve of a day that is bigger than us_

_But we open our eyes, cause we're told that we must_

_And the trees wave their arms and the clouds try to plead_

_Desperately yelling, there's something we need_

 

“Do you have everything you need, love?” Sidon asked, trailing behind Link after he exited out of the castle and started walking towards the bridge that led out of Zora’s Domain.

Link nodded and motioned to the big, stuffed backpack he had slung over his shoulders.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure,” Link replied, rolling his eyes with a small smirk.

“Did you pack a sweater? I don’t want you to get cold.”

The Hylian snorted. “No, I didn’t pack a sweater. I won’t need it.”

“Are you sure? I could go and get one for you right now if you-” Sidon started, but then stopped mid-sentence when Link started to lightly laugh.

“Ha, Sidon, it’s okay. It won’t get very cold in Faron. I don’t need it.” He reached out for Sidon’s hand and softly grabbed it, then looked up at him with a warm smile while still letting out more small chuckles. “It’ll be fine.”

As much as the prince wanted to argue and pester Link into bringing a sweater _just in case,_ he held Link’s hand instead and smiled back, totally enamored with that wonderful smile even though he had seen it a thousand times before.

They were nearing the edge of the bridge out of the Domain when they both heard the nearby sound of hooves clopping towards them. Sidon and Link both swung their heads to look over and see a servant approaching them and leading Link’s steed, Hickory. Hickory’s orange hair shone in the rising sun’s rays, and, being the obedient mare she was, she walked alongside the Zora servant calmly until she caught sight of her rider.

As soon as Hickory saw Link, her ears lifted in delight and her pace quickened into a fast trot, making the poor servant cry out in alarm and stumble to match the pace of the horse but only ended up being dragged along on the ground.

Link’s face shone like the sun as he called out “Hickory!” right before the horse screeched to a halt to nuzzle her Hylian rider’s face. The air was light with Link’s laughter and Hickory’s sweet little neighs, making Sidon smile.

While his fiancé did visit his horse at the stables frequently, he never really rode her anymore considering that he barely left the Domain. It was truly a shame since it was clear they had a very strong bond.

So it was nice seeing them together again and it sincerely made Sidon happy that they had the opportunity to travel together like they had done so much a year before.

The prince walked over to Hickory and bent down to pat her head and brush her hair. “She’s so happy to see you!” Sidon exclaimed and then laughed when Hickory turned her head to lovingly nuzzle into his hand.

“Alright, girl. Time to settle down,” Link said and pat his horse’s head after scratching her chin. “We should leave soon.”

“Good morning,” two young women said behind Sidon, making the Zora prince turn around to see who spoke.

Behind him were his sister and Zelda walking towards them. Sidon grinned at seeing Mipha and the Hylian princess. “Oh! Good morning, sister. Good morning, Zelda.”

Link slowly turned his head towards the two girls who smiled up at the prince and muttered a weak, “Mornin’.”

Their smiles didn't break at Link's poor excuse for a greeting and Mipha softly said, “We wanted to see you off.”

Sidon's eyes fell down to see that Mipha and Zelda were holding hands, and he smirked.

“Oh,” Link mumbled without even looking over at Mipha and took the reins from the servant. “Thanks.”

The Zora siblings and Hylian girl traded awkward looks over Link’s rotten attitude.

Sidon wished that Link wouldn’t be so cold to them, especially since it had been over a month since the Champions came back and Zelda began to stay in the Domain. He should’ve gotten over whatever was bothering him by now, right?

Still avoiding Mipha and Zelda’s gaze, Link stepped onto one of Hickory’s stirrups and pulled himself up onto the saddle. When he was on, Sidon stepped forward to gently hold his fiancé’s face. “I love you,” he said softly with a smile.

Link returned the smile and replied, “I love you, too, Sidon,” before the prince leaned down to give him a tender kiss.

Once they broke away, Sidon let go and grinned. “Stay safe, love. And try to enjoy yourself.”

As he grabbed at the reins, Link let out a single hard laugh and shrugged. “I don’t know, it sounds borderline impossible to if I’m going to be spending my time with Revali.”

Trying to hold back a chuckle, Sidon scolded, “Now don’t say that. That’s not very nice.”

Link shrugged again and smirked. “Anyway, I’m leaving.”

“Take care, Link,” Mipha murmured from beside her brother. “I pray you will return safely.”

“Yes, be careful,” Zelda said with a wave as Link snapped the reins, making Hickory start to walk forward and turn onto the bridge.

“I’ll miss you! Come back home soon!” Sidon called out louder than was needed, making Link turn around in his seat and shoot the prince another smirk.

“I’ll try my best,” Link called back and then faced forward while Hickory continued to walk down the stone-encrusted bridge.

The three of them watched him leave in silence, Hickory quickening to a gallop as soon as she took her first steps off of the bridge.

“I hope this won’t turn out badly,” Zelda muttered once Link was out of sight, loud enough for Sidon to hear.

“I feel the same.” Mipha nodded slightly. “We can only hope that the both of them will behave.”

The prince swung his head to the two girls and smiled wide. “Oh, they’ll be fine! A bond between two true friends cannot be broken! They just need to find it again is all.”

The princesses instantly exchanged an odd, painful glance that quickly fell when they both looked up at Sidon with strained smiles.

“Yes, you’re right,” Mipha said sweetly, patting her brother’s arm. “They’ll find their way.”

Seeing those two fake smiles made Sidon’s own fall, knowing that there was something behind theirs that he didn’t know or understand. He licked his lips and opened his mouth to ask something, but promptly closed it when he realized that even if he asked the questions that were running around in his mind, it’s not like anyone would tell him the truth.

He wished someone would, but everyone insisted on keeping him in the dark, probably convinced that they were protecting him from whatever the truth was.

And that glance between Zelda and his sister made him wonder if he had made the right decision forcing Link and Revali together, or whether it was a big mistake.

But Sidon loved Link with all his heart, so that meant that he had to trust him. To trust that in due time, when he was ready, he would tell him what was really going on and that he would make the right decisions, no matter what it was that was happening.

With clenched fists, Sidon uttered, “I’m going to attend father. I’ll see you two at breakfast,” in the most lighthearted voice he could muster and turned to leave.

 

L I N K

 

 _Feel the heart start, the unheard cry_  
_Only darkness seeds the light_  
_May you open, see beyond_  
_The fruitful seed seeks the sun_

 

Link had definitely made the right choice to leave Lanayru at the break of dawn because once he had arrived at the horse stables by Lake Floria to let Hickory rest, the sun was already falling down the sky.

Truthfully, he had been in such a daze for the last ten hours of his trip, so the ride went by freakishly quickly. There were just so many things to think about, things to _worry_ about, that he got lost in his own mind and ran on autopilot.

He had tried to focus on the task at hand, telling himself that he had to quickly follow through with his “quest” so he could return to Sidon’s arms as soon as possible.

But then there would be a flash of emerald green in his head; an image of the fierce and piercing gaze that belonged to a familiar Rito, and he was in shambles again.

He hated Revali and dreaded having to see him, but at the same time, his heart leaped in excitement in such a way that it scared him.

There was this strong imbalance in both his mind and body, which made it hard to focus or even properly function. It was like there was an incomprehensible war raging within him, two wildly different parts of himself that were fighting over how he should feel and how he should act.

So, he was relieved when he had arrived at the stables, hoping that resting and taking care of Hickory would calm his mind.

When both he and Hickory neared the stables, Link hopped off the saddle and used the reins to lead his horse to a water trough for her to drink from. He tied the reins to the fence by the trough and scratched her chin affectionately before he went for the saddlebag on her back to pull out two apples.

Eating one of the apples with his right hand, Link offered the other apple in his left to Hickory, who took a break from drinking water to grab the apple out of his hand with her mouth.

Link had just taken a bite of his apple when a sudden, familiar voice came out of nowhere right behind him.

“Link, my friend! Is that you?!”

Startled, Link jumped a foot in the air and swallowed the bite of apple down the wrong tube, causing him to cough feverishly. Beating his chest with a fist in an attempt to knock the apple down, he turned around to see who it was that scared the daylights out of him.

There Kass was, the famed Rito bard, walking towards him with a smile that fell into a worried look when he saw that Link was choking. “Oh, gods! Are you alright?!”

“Yes, I’m just peachy,” Link struggled to say in between hard coughs and weak breaths. He could feel that the chunk of apple was almost down when Kass, who seemed to have no concept of just how strong he was, hit his back hard, thinking that he was helping his friend when he was really killing him.

The force of the strike almost knocked Link off of his feet and it left him totally breathless. Nonetheless, Kass had succeeded, and the bit of apple went flying out of Link’s throat and onto the ground.

Link gasped and rubbed at his throat. “Thanks,” he breathed.

“You’re welcome!” Kass’ dark expression brightened into a smile once again. “I couldn’t have you dying when this is the first time I’ve seen you in, what, five months? Maybe even six?”

Link let out one last cough before replying. “Yeah, something like that. What’re you doing all the way out here in Faron, though?”

“Oh! I’m taking my family around Hyrule, showing them everything that I discovered during my own travels.” Kass rubbed at his neck and his eyes went to the side, possibly searching for his family. “I told the girls about everything I had seen when I came back home, and for the past year, they’ve been begging me to take them and show them everything. Amali and I decided that it would be safe enough to make the trip, since the number of monsters have gone down plenty after you defeated Ganon. We’re here to test our luck and see if we can get a glimpse of Farosh.” When he couldn’t find his family members, his eyes fell back on Link. “What brings you here though? I’ve heard that you haven’t left Zora’s Domain much at all the last few months, so I’m happy to see that you’re traveling again.”

“I’m on my way to Lurelin Village,” Link said. “Sidon... _convinced_ me to go help them with a monster issue actually.”

“I see.”

Nervously, Link rubbed his arms. “I’m meeting someone down there to help me. One of the other Champions.” When Kass’ eyes started to twinkle with interest, Link elaborated. “I’m going to be working with Revali.”

The minstrel’s soft smile widened even further. “You’re going to be working with _Revali?_ That’ll be interesting.” He chuckled and the edges of his beaks curled up more as he was trying to hold back an excitable grin. “You know, I’m actually the one who had first found Champion Revali after he was resurrected.”

Link blinked up at the Rito, his eyes wide. “Really? You did?”

Kass uncharacteristically nodded his head in an overly enthusiastic manner. “Mhm. Luckily I was practicing my accordion by Vah Medoh when it happened, so I was right there when he stumbled out on the brink of a second death. I carried him back to the village and our medic nursed him back to health.” Kass stopped for a moment to chuckle again as if recalling some memories. “I’ve spent some time with him and he is quite the character.”

Link’s eyes fell to the ground and he gripped onto his arm tightly. “What’s...what’s your take on him?”

“My take on Revali?”

“Yeah.”

Kass hummed and he brought his hand to his chin, his eyes rising up in thought. “Well, he’s a bit _rough around the edges,_ so to speak, but that was of no surprise to me considering that the songs and poems written about him made that very clear. However, there is this hidden softness to him that’s really quite charming, though it rarely shows.” His butterscotch eyes fell back down to Link and he shrugged. “Simply put, he’s a complicated man. That’s for certain.”

Link slowly nodded and fumbled with the apple in his hand, but said nothing.

“Didn’t all the Champions go to some sort of reunion in Lanayru? You _have_ seen him, yes?” The Rito asked, cocking his head to the side. “I know that you lost all your memories during that century after the Calamity, so it was like meeting him for the first time, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Link scratched the back of his head. “But those few memories I regained during my quest a year ago painted him out to be an a-” He almost cursed, but stopped himself. For some reason, he felt like it was a crime to curse around Kass. “...A _jerk._ And he didn’t exactly prove me wrong when I saw him. But, he…” Link trailed off, recalling how sad Revali seemed; how when he wasn’t glaring up at him, it seemed like he could cry at any moment. “...nevermind. It’s nothing.”

Kass didn’t pester Link into explaining himself, but he did peer down at him with a look that implied he was thinking hard about something. He hummed once more and finally said, “So the reunion didn’t go so well, I take it?”

Link remembered Revali’s outburst when Sidon told them all about their engagement, and he felt himself get angry over it again. But then he remembered that moment they had when they watched the sunrise together. How it filled him with a tranquil nostalgia that somehow made him feel at ease.

And then he remembered that memory that had returned to him when Revali yelled at him on the training grounds. How it…

No. No, he can’t think about that.

“It was fine,” he answered, his eyes flicking away as he took a bite out of his apple. “It could’ve been worse.”

Kass continued to look down at him with that strangely calculating gaze, but his eyes shifted away towards Floria Falls. He sighed thoughtfully and walked towards the fence where Hickory was tied, resting one of his wings on it while the other reached out to pet the horse’s neck. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well, girl.”

Link meandered over to the fence as well, stepping up on the first rail and crossing his arms on the top one. The waterfalls caught his attention and he watched the water flow and fall into the lake below.

“Hey, Kass? Can I ask for some advice...for a friend?”

The minstrel turned his head to him, a knowing smile on his face. “Of course.”

“Well, this friend of mine, he…” Link took in a deep breath, trying to think of a way to explain the situation in a way that wouldn’t make it so blatantly obvious that it was him. “...He’s with someone. Someone that he’s considered the love of his life for a long time.”

“Mhm,” Kass hummed, leaning on the fence.

“But someone else from his past came crashing back into his life. He, um, hasn’t seen this person in a very long time, so he barely remembers this person. And this guy, he’s…” Link gripped onto the top rail of the fence tightly. “...he’s bitter, rude, and is just no fun to be around,” he hissed under his breath. After taking a deep breath and sighing, his grip loosened and his voice softened. “And yet, my friend has started remembering the days when this guy was apart of his life before and…”

“Your friend is starting to have feelings that he had felt a very long time ago. Ones that he can’t remember ever having, but feel very familiar.” Kass rested his head in his hand, his eyes refusing to leave Link. “Is that right?”

Link cringed.

He supposed that it was true...that he had started to feel some old, familiar feelings for Revali, but he didn’t like it when it was put into words like _that._

He furrowed his eyebrows together, his entire face following suit. “I...I think so. Something like that.” He ran his fingers through his hair, moving the bangs out of his eyes. “But still, I...er, my _friend,_ is with someone amazing. Someone that loves him deeply and that would give him the entire world if he could. And my friend loves him the same way, he thinks.” Link squeezed the bridge of his nose and groaned. “My friend is just very confused. There’s so many conflicting feelings and thoughts that are playing tug-o-war in his mind. He’s very lost.” He let go and his gaze went back over to the waterfalls to watch the water flow and fall again.

Link jumped when Kass suddenly put a hand on his shoulder, which made him twist around to look at the avian beside him.

Kass chuckled warmly and said, “Well, you can tell your friend this. Tell him to take a moment to close his eyes and breathe deeply. Tell him to shut out everything buzzing around in his mind; to shut out everyone else’s words. To shut out the entire world around him.” He lifted a finger to point at Link’s chest. “Tell him to calm himself and focus on what his heart says. Only when he shuts everything out can he be totally honest with what he feels with his heart. Everything that runs around in his mind can confuse him, but once it’s all pushed aside, he can really listen to how he truly feels.” He poked Link’s chest, right where his heart was. “Tell him to take a quiet moment to really listen to what his heart has to say.” He brought his hand away and directed his attention to Floria Falls once again and sighed. “The world can convince one how to think, but nothing can really convince one how to _feel.”_

Link blinked at Kass and reached up to touch his chest where Kass poked him. “Thanks...I’ll...I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

“Kass! Where did you run off to? The girls are all ready to go!” Link heard Amali, Kass’ wife, call out somewhere nearby.

“Oh, dear me, I can’t believe I almost forgot the whole reason why I’m here,” Kass murmured to himself and stepped away from the fence. “Coming, dear!” He called out and took a few steps backward. “Apologies, Link, but duty calls.”

“No worries,” Link said with a smile.

“You might want to run along before the girls see you. They wouldn’t let you leave.”

Link snorted and started to untie Hickory’s reins from the fence. “You’re right. I should probably get going anyway.”

Walking away, Kass said, “I hope to see you again soon. It truly was a treat to see you.”

“It was good to see you, too, Kass.”

“When we meet next, tell me how things went for your friend,” The ave laughed, winked, and then turned to walk away and return to his family.

Link watched him leave and then looked to Hickory. She looked at him curiously for a second before nuzzling her snout into him lovingly, making him giggle. “Thanks, girl. Now let’s get going.”

He grabbed the reins and led his horse away from the trough and onto the road before he hopped on the saddle. With a large sigh, he snapped the reins and Hickory began to trot. “Here we go I guess.”

And as they continued down the road that led through the Faron jungle, he thought hard about what Kass had told him.

_The world can convince one how to think, but nothing can really convince one how to feel._

 

His forehead folded in thought as the palm trees whistled in the wind above him.

 

R E V A L I

 

_Children born of one emotion_

_Our devotion's deepest ocean_

_No division reasoned we'll be free_

_To know_

_We are beyond a bow_

_And lo, the hues arrange to show_

_It's perfectly clear_

 

The sun had just fallen out of the sky when Revali finally found the fishing village in southeast Faron. The night air was crisp and cool, and the wind brought the salty scent of the sea to Revali’s nares.

Revali didn’t mean to arrive so late in the day.

He had wanted to get there early, maybe even before Link came.

He had planned out every line of dialogue he would say to Link's stupid face. Everything he would do and say. He had felt prepared.

But once he woke up that morning in the hammock at the Flight Range, it was almost like he was paralyzed.

Paralyzed at the reality that he actually _was_ going to see Link and actually _was_ going to spend at least a couple of days with him. All of his mental preparations fell apart then and all he could do was pace around for hours and hours until he somehow managed up the courage to leave his safe, stable Rito Village and venture into sweaty, humid Faron.

Truthfully, he considered not even going anymore because the thought of meeting Link's sapphire eyes after cursing him and pining after him for weeks was just too terrifying.

But he was here now.

And the humid air of the jungle, even at night, made his feathers feel gross and soggy, just as he had predicted.

 

Revali was able to find the village with Link's vague directions and landed in front of what he believed to be the entrance to Lurelin; a wooden arch lit by two torches.

He walked underneath it and down the path, curious to see what this place was like, considering that Lurelin hadn’t been there before the Calamity.

The path was lit by lights, making it easy to follow even at night. Ahead of him, he could see the ocean. The moon reflected beautifully on its surface and boats tied to docks bobbed in the tide.

As he walked, he took note of his surroundings; of all the palm trees swaying in the wind, of the huts that glowed in the light of torches, and of the calm, serene silence that filled the air there at night.

Following the main path, he quickly found himself on the shoreline, not very much enjoying the harrowing feeling of wet sand enveloping his talons. Taking a moment to try and shake off the mushy sand, he continued to look around and saw that the path passed the edge of the water and into the village. So, slightly annoyed that he was unsuccessful in shaking off the sand that insisted on sticking onto his feet, he continued up the path.

That is, until he saw a Hylia statue, not unlike the one at Rito Village, right on the beach, nestled into her own little cavern where she could be protected by the harsh weather of Faron.

Revali couldn't help but glare at the statue, bitter about all his misfortune brought on by the goddess that it represented.

“Fuck you,” he mumbled under his breath and then spat in the direction of the statue.

He was ready to turn and walk away when he suddenly felt a sharp, agonizing pain shoot up his leg from his foot, making him let out a shrill shriek in alarm and pain.

He looked down to see a crab with its massive claw pinching down on his foot with a frightening amount of strength, and it made him shriek again and kick his leg violently at an attempt to get that ugly thing off of him.

After many jerks and kicks, the crab loosened its grip and went flying in the air, then fell into the water with a _plop._

Fuming, Revali swung his head back to the statue with his face twisted into an ugly glare. “Oh, yeah, _real gods damn mature,”_ he hissed up at Hylia and stomped away, his foot beating.

 

Once he got to the larger path that he assumed led further into the village, Revali again looked about him and studied his surroundings.

It didn’t take long for him to find the place he was searching for. A sign that happened to catch his eye read “Fishbone Inn” and was hung on the front of what looked to be an old ship redone and repurposed to be an inn.

As soon as he read the word ‘inn’, Revali clenched his fists and swerved to enter this establishment, ready to see Link and get this over with.

Instead, however, she was only greeted by a pudgy and short Hylian woman who smiled wide once he stepped in. She was standing behind the front desk and clapped her hands together when Revali entered. “Welcome to the Fishbone Inn,” she sang.

“Thank you,” the Rito said as his eyes flicked around the inn, looking for the Hylian Champion. When he wasn’t anywhere to be seen, Revali asked, “Ah, I’m actually looking for my friend. Is Link here?”

“I figured you were the Rito he had mentioned,” the woman said thoughtfully with a nod. “He stepped out a bit ago, but he’ll be back soon I’m sure.”

Revali let out a hum. “I see. I’ll go see if I can find him then.” He reached for the bag he had slung over his shoulder and asked “I’d like to get a room. How much would that cost?” he as he began to pull out a pouch full of rupees before the woman stopped him.

“No need, dear. Link already booked a room for you. Paid for it and everything.”

The avian blinked. “He...he did?”

“Yessir,” she chirped and then stepped around the front desk. “I’ll take your things and bring them to your room so you can go find your friend.”

Still a bit taken aback from Link booking him a room, Revali stepped forward and handed off his bag to the innkeeper. “A-Alright. Thank you, ma’am. Do you know where I can find him?”

“I think he said he was going to the beach. Rimba Beach I’m guessing.” When Revali blankly stared at her, making it obvious that he didn’t know what she was talking about, she chuckled and added, “Just leave the village from the east and follow the shoreline. It’s that way.”

Revali nodded and gave her a little bow as he said, “Thank you,” before twisting around on his heels and leaving the inn.

 

He followed the innkeeper’s directions and turned to the right after he left, following the path that led out of the village, which was barely lit by the lights that followed it.

To his right, he saw a small dock where a fisherman was tying his fishing boat to the dock’s cleats for the night. Wanting to confirm that he was going the right way, Revali decided to walk up the dock and ask the man if he had seen Link at this ‘Rimba Beach’ before he started to head there himself.

The fisherman had seemed very startled when he looked up to see Revali; perhaps because he had never seen a Rito before. Regardless, he nodded his head and pointed towards the edge of the beach, saying that he saw Link while he was coming in. He gave Revali more thorough instruction, so with that, Revali thanked the man and walked off the dock.

Once he stepped on solid ground, or rather, sand, the Rito took a very large, deep breath, and proceeded down the path and out of the village, not completely ready to face Link.

 

Revali followed the directions of the fisherman, walking alongside the edge of the water and hearing nothing but the rolls of the waves going in and out, in and out. The birds that normally squawked all day were sleeping, leaving the crashes of the ocean to be the only sound heard, which made them almost deafening as Revali searched the beach with his eyes while he walked.

He eventually rounded around the corner of a small dune to see Link sitting there in the sand barefoot, pants rolled up and legs outstretched so the water lapped against his feet. He was looking over the vast ocean whimsically, his eyes sparkling with a mysterious glint like the stars above him. The soft ocean breeze tossed around his hair that was let down, giving the wind free reign to play with it.

Gods, he was still so gorgeous.

A work of art.

Revali shook his head to shake out those thoughts and strolled over to the Hylian in the sand.

Once he reached him, the Rito sat next to Link, who didn’t look over at him as he said, “I was starting to think you weren’t going to come.”

Revali scoffed. “Well, here I am, unfortunately.”

“I’m surprised it took you so long to get here. I expected that you would get here before I did.”

“Well, I just underestimated how long it would take me to get here,” Revali lied with a sigh.

He had known just how long to get there. He just was having an impossible time actually leaving.

Link said nothing, still not bothering to look over at Revali and only blankly stared at the ocean ahead.

After being _terrified_ of coming and having to spend an entire _day_ getting the courage to come, this indifference made Revali positively furious. His beak gritted together as he internally fumed, and he couldn’t help but spit out, “I know you broke my bow.”

Now _that_ made Link react. He cringed and his blue eyes went wide like saucers, though he still didn’t look over at Revali.

“How could you just let it break?” Revali croaked in a voice so low and warbled that it was almost indiscernible. “That was one of a kind and you just-”  
“I’m sorry, Revali,” Link interrupted waveringly, putting his hands up in defense. Finally, he looked over at Revali, and Revali was surprised to see it full of remorse. “It really was an accident-”  
It was Revali’s turn to interrupt.“Oh, I sure hope it was on accident! Or else I would have to break your _neck_ on accident!”

“Listen, I know that you’re really upset, but-”

“That was my most prized possession and you just let it _break!”_ Without even realizing it, Revali’s voice rose to a frightening shout.

Why was he shouting so loudly? Why was he acting like an angry, stupid, little hatchling?

This wasn’t just because of the bow, was it?

“Listen-!”

“I can’t believe you were so careless and-” Revali had to stop. More and more wild and ugly emotions were flooding into him the more he yelled to the point where he couldn’t think straight. His mind went foggy and his eyes stung as tears started to try to push their way out from his ducts.

_Why didn’t you ever come back for me?_

_Why did you have to take so long?_

_Why did you have to forget about me?_

_Why did you have to choose him?_

_Why did you have to change?_

_Why don’t you love me anymore?_

Thankfully, Link ripped the ave from his trance by shouting over him, “For the love of Hylia, just listen to me, would you?!”

Revali’s beak snapped shut and then his eyes were the ones to get wide like saucers.

When Revali went quiet, Link, with narrowed eyes, went on. “Listen, I’m really sorry about that. More than you can ever know. I still feel guilty about letting that happen.” He licked his lips and made a short intake of breath. “But, I tried my best to figure out a way to fix it. I need you to know that. I admit I had broken it before a few times, but I would gather everything that Harth needed to put it back together. Every time that the string snapped or something came loose, I would make sure to fix it. I loved using that bow. I used it every single day. It became really important to me.”

Revali blinked and remained silent.

“Then one day it snapped and it couldn’t be fixed. I tried my best. When Harth said it was no use, I went out and tried to find other ways to fix it or find other people who could.” Link shook his head. “But it was too old and I used it too much. There was nothing I could do.” His eyes fell down to the sand between his legs for a moment and he let out a very soft sigh. Then he reached for Revali’s arm and looked up at him. “I really am sorry. You can be mad all you like, but I hope that you can forgive me. I’m sorry.”

Revali stared down at the Hylian that held onto his wing, gazing into his sapphire eyes.

A certain sincerity was there, coupled with an honest, heartfelt look. He was genuinely apologetic.

That…

That was the Link he once knew.

Was he still there somewhere?

Revali’s eyes flicked away and his breath got caught in his throat. “No, _I’m_ sorry that I overreacted like that over a bow. That was ridiculous of me.” He clicked his beak. “I’ve...I’ve just been on edge lately.”

Link scoffed a bit. “I can definitely say the same. But it wasn’t _just_ a bow. It was everything to you, so I should’ve kept it safe.”

“No.” The Rito shook his head, tossing his braids around. “No, I’m glad it was put to good use, even if it did end up breaking. Honestly, it’s better than if it was just sitting around collecting dust. I guess I’m just upset that I won’t ever be able to use it again.”

Link’s stressed expression faded into a smile. “Then I’m glad.” He chuckled. “At least you listened to what I had to say about it. Teba wouldn’t let me get a word in and kept screaming at me. I actually thought he was going to rip my throat out.”

“Yeah, he did mention that he gave you a good scolding,” Revali laughed.

Link’s face brightened into a look of interest. “You’ve talked to him?”

“Mhm. He’s actually one of the trainees that I mentioned in my letter. I’m trying to pass on my amazing flying skills and hopefully be able to teach him my gale in the future.”

“I never would’ve expected him to be an actual trainee. It seems like he would be too... _prideful_ to do that.”

“Well, he actually asked me to take him on as my disciple.” Revali smirked. “At first, he insisted that I was an imposter, but after I proved him wrong and showed him I was who I said he was, he practically begged me on his hands and knees to teach him.” The corners of his beak curled upward to smile even wider.

Link stifled a laugh. “You’re joking.”

“No! You should’ve seen it.”

“I really wish I did.”

Revali couldn’t hold it in any longer and let out a short laugh before turning back to face the ocean. “It was possibly the most satisfying thing I had ever experienced!” When his laughter ended, he let out a long sigh. “By the way…”

Link leaned forward to try and look at Revali’s face as he spoke.

“I knew it wasn’t you that wrote the first letter.”

Again, the Hylian’s body jerked.

“As soon as I opened it, I could tell it wasn’t you. It was very obvious. Sidon didn’t even try to sound like you.”

After stuttering uselessly for a moment, Link was able to let out, “Huh? Then why the hell did you write back without saying anything?! Why did you even write back at all, if it was _so_ obvious that it wasn’t me?!”

Revali furrowed his eyebrows and his navy feathers flared. “I don’t know! Why don’t you just _shut up?!”_

Link frowned, holding weirdly intense eye contact with Revali until the avian broke away by tossing his head off to the side with a grunt.

“I suppose I just wanted an excuse to see you again, so I went along with it,” Revali absentmindedly blurted out and cringed right after he said it.

For Hylia's sake, did he really have to say _that?!_

Link, thankfully, said nothing and only blankly looked up at Revali before turning his attention back at the ocean in front of them. The Rito did the same, remaining silent and regarding the way the moon and stars reflected on the surface of the ocean and the way the sounds of the tide rolling in and out on the sand filled the air. He came out of his cross-legged sitting position to stretch his legs out and feel the water's edge softly beat against it and was surprised at how warm it actually was.

A sudden strong gust of wind blew, rustling the palm leaves of the trees behind them and whipping around both of the men's hair. Link let out an almost inaudible, low yelp and brought his legs to his chest so he could wrap his arms around them and bring them close.

“Fuck, I'm cold,” he said with a shiver.

Right. Revali always forgot how susceptible Hylians were to the cold.

“Don't you have a sweater or something with you?” Revali asked, squinting.

For some reason that had really antagonized Link, because his entire face scrunched in and he snapped, _“No,_ I don't have a sweater! It's Faron! It's not _supposed_ to be cold!”

The ave rolled his eyes. “It gets cold _everywhere_ at night, genius. Even Faron. Plus, we're right on the beach, which makes it even cooler,” he said and motioned to the ocean.

Again, Link didn't reply and only frowned, but this time he violently shivered and his teeth began to chatter.

“Gods, you really are freezing. Why don't we just go to the inn now?”

“No, not quite yet,” Link managed to say in between teeth chatters. “The moon is just...really pretty on the water and I haven't quite gotten my fill yet, y'know?”

Revali's eyes flicked back to Link and, as much as he tried not to, he ended up admiring how wonderful he looked, regardless of his irritating teeth chatters and harsh shivering.

He admired how his golden hair shone in the moonlight.

How his sapphire eyes that had looked so overcast the last time they saw each other seemed to have a tiny bit of sparkle in them.

How his cheeks and the tips of his ears and nose were brushed with a rosy red.

How his lips-

Oh, gods.

“Yes, I understand what you mean,” he uttered softly. Then he brought a hand to his scarf to tug it off and grumbled, “At least take my scarf if you're so insistent on staying out here in the cold like a buffoon.”

“Huh? No, that's fine.” Link waved his hands in front of him in protest.

“Don't be stubborn. You're cold, so just take it,” Revali spat and reached over Link's waving hands to quickly wrap it around his neck.

Again, Link looked up at Revali uselessly and he could have sworn that behind that surprised and somewhat worried expression, his eyes sparkled just a tad more.

But that could have just been him.

The Rito paid it no mind and crossed his arms, the edges of his beak folding into a frown. “And don't think I'm doing it to be nice. I just can't stand the sound of your teeth chattering. It's gods damn annoying.”

Link softly chuckled, lighting up the air. “Thanks anyway,” he said and then smiled a smile that radiated warmth.

And Revali's heart swelled.

He remembered that smile.

 

~~~

 

The moon was high in the sky; a bright saucer that softly lit the world far down below.

The Rito and Hylian hadn’t said anything to each other, but a million different thoughts swam in Revali’s mind.

He thought about how things had been before the Calamity took everything from him.

He thought about how things could never be the same.

He thought about how much Link had changed and that while there were small instances that were reminiscent of the way that he was before, he was still a completely different person and nothing could change that.

He thought about how he could pine after Link to no end, but he had no chance.

He thought about how Link’s sapphire eyes glowed wonderfully in the moonlight.

He thought about how beautiful the moon was in the reflection of the ever-moving sea.

He thought about how quiet and serene it was.

He thought about how much fucking colder the waves that batted at his feet were getting as the air got cooler.

He thought about how much sand he was going to find in all his _crevices_ over the next week after sitting in this stupid sand for so long doing nothing.

“Hey, Link. It’s getting pretty late,” Revali muttered and scooched backward, away from the water. “We should get an early start tomorrow, so let’s go back to the inn.” He peered over at Link, noticing that he was starting to nod off. “Plus, you’re falling asleep. Let’s go.”

The Hylian jumped, shook his head, and he blinked wildly to try and stay awake. “No, I’m not.”

“Why are you even denying it? We’ve been out here for way too long. It’s boring.”

“It’s _peaceful.”_ Link scowled at the Rito with droopy eyelids. “And I need some peace after you came crashing into my life,” he tried to say with a hostile tone, but it broke once a yawn forced itself out as he finished his sentence. The yawn was big, making the corner of his eyes tear up.

Revali sniffed and clicked his beak. “Well, I’m sorry for ruining your perfect little life with your blockhead fiancé and all of his little fishie subjects.”

“Don’t call him that,” Link snapped and weakly lifted a finger to point at the avian. Then he yawned again, though this one was even bigger. “He isn’t a blockhead. He’s just a bit naive. Other than, he’s _perfect,_ so I would appreciate it if you didn’t call him names,” he grumbled as he rubbed at his eyes with his fists.

Rolling his eyes, Revali said, “Yeah. He’s perfect for sure, going behind your back and sending a letter to me in your name. Nothing wrong with that.”

Link’s drowsiness took over, so his words were mumbled and low, making it hard to understand what he was even saying. “He...was just trying to help.” Another yawn escaped him and his eyes fluttered shut.

Revali snorted. “Yes, what a great help he is, forcing two people together.”

“I...I thought you said you _wanted_ to see me,” Link whispered slowly, his voice trailing off as his eyes closed again.

“Well-! That’s- That’s beside the point!” Revali crowed. “I would never have-”

He was cut off by a sudden weight on his shoulder. His feathers ruffled wildly when he looked down to see Link leaning into his shoulder; his eyes were fully closed and he was breathing softly, telling Revali that he had finally fallen asleep.

It felt like someone was squeezing his heart and it was almost impossible to breathe.

He froze up and remained motionless as he hissed, “Link, don’t tell me that you fell asleep.” Nudging Link with his arm, he tried to wake the sleeping Hylian. “Wake up. Wake up!”  
And yet, despite Revali’s efforts, Link did not budge and his eyes didn’t flutter back open. He was already sound asleep, even though he was awake not even a minute before. Revali supposed that that showed just how tired he had been, and after trying a few more times to wake him up, he stopped and turned his head to look out at the sea. The corners of his beak tightened awkwardly and his navy feathers refused to fall back down.

Revali brought his hands together and tapped his fingers, hoping that Link would just wake up soon on his own.

But he never did.

He hated this. This was awful.

What was he even supposed to do? Just sit there and wait for him to wake up? Or…

No, no he couldn’t do that.

But it was getting colder and that idiot didn’t even bring a coat. He was going to get sick if he slept out here.

Then again…

He glanced back down at Link, deciding what to do as he studied his sleeping face.

After a moment, he sighed, “Hylia above…” and every so slowly twisted himself towards Link to hesitantly slip one wing under Link’s legs and put the other on his back. With great care, Revali lifted Link up and out of the sand as he stood, successfully carrying the Hylian in his wings.

 

He had assumed that it would have been hard to carry Link all the way to the inn, but it was surprisingly easy. Of course, that might have been because carrying him made Revali inexplicably _anxious,_ so much so that his mind was hazy and he lost all feeling in his entire body aside from the pain of his heart beating violently against his chest.

Nonetheless, he somehow made it to the inn and carefully walked up the steps and inside.

With the Hylian still in his arms, he glanced around the place to try and find Link’s bed, and strolled over to one when he saw a big bag on the edge of it and the master sword leaning against the bedpost in its sheath. Seeing the master sword out there in the open like that made Revali disgruntledly shake his head, in utter disbelief that Link was stupid enough to leave such a relic unattended.

Revali balanced on one foot and used the other one to push the blanket on the bed aside so he could put Link down and pull the blanket over him.

Once Link was safely in bed, the Rito stepped away to go sleep in his own room, but something stopped him. He turned back around to look down at Link, who was breathing softly, undisturbed, and Revali realized that his scarf was still wrapped around his neck.

He briefly debated whether or not to take the scarf off of him, but decided against it and took a step closer to the side of Link’s bed against his better judgment.

The moonlight peeked through the window to shine down on Link, but his bangs were in his face, hiding his fairness. Without even thinking, Revali tentatively reached out to brush the hair aside and he quickly brought his hand back in fear that Link would wake up to his touch.

But he didn’t even stir, not even a bit, so Revali watched him just a couple seconds more before he whispered, “I still love you, you know” and turned around to find his own bed and try and get some rest.

 

L I N K

 

 _Have you ever heard a callin'_  
_But you don't know where the sound is coming from?_  
_Sometimes love is talking in a whisper_  
_Do you ever feel like falling_  
_For someone you never thought of falling for?_  
_But without him_ _  
Though you move, you're getting nowhere_

 

Something woke up Link in the middle of the night.

Whether it was a dream or the cold night breeze that woke him up, he wasn’t sure, but once he found himself awake, he drowsily sat up and looked about his surroundings.

The inn…

He was inside the inn…

But how?

He thought hard for a moment and a misty, vague recollection of him being carried in his sleep came to mind.

He looked around the room and saw Revali curled up in the bed across from him, facing him.

Did Revali carry him there?

His heart began to patter in his chest and he mindlessly bit his lip as his cheeks began to flush, but when he realized what he was doing, he cursed himself and grabbed at his chest, begging his heart to calm down.

And when he did, he noticed that he was still wearing his scarf, and the heat in his face returned.

_No!_

_No no no no!_

He tore the scarf off and threw it to the edge of the bed, then scooted away from it as if it was a bloodthirsty creature.

The corners of his mouth began to wobble and he grabbed at his hair and pulled. He bit his lip again but more from a violent anger over what was happening than from fluster.

All the different, conflicting thoughts and feelings he had came back at full force and started a whirlwind in his mind. He felt as if he was going to lose himself in it so he tried to pull at his hair harder to steady himself.

_Please, make it stop…_

Thankfully, he suddenly remembered what Kass had told him that day and it became easier to breathe when he recalled what he said he should do.

_Close your eyes._

 

Link tightly squeezed his eyes shut.

 

_Breathe deeply._

 

Gradually, Link was able to steady his hard and shaky breaths.

 

_Shut everything out._

 

Link envisioned himself shutting a large door, keeping away all the thoughts and feelings that terrorized him outside so that he could really focus.

It worked, and his mind finally became quiet.

 

_Focus on your heart._

 

Link, with his eyes still closed, clasped his hands together tightly as he focused all his energy on his heart.

A scene that he didn’t recognize played out in his head out of nowhere.

He was laying in the grass at night, looking above him to see a million stars shining brightly and fireflies buzzing around in the air. He glanced around him, seeing that Zelda and all the Champions were there in the grass, too, laughing and talking about nothing in particular.

But most importantly, Revali was laying beside him, and when Link looked over at him, the ave glanced over at him as well. Revali’s beak curled into a smile that was so sweet it was unlike him, and the emerald of his eyes that was usually so sharp softened when they landed on him.

Even just recalling this short moment, butterflies rose in Link’s stomach and it felt like his heart stopped working.

Link forced his eyes open and quickly threw his head to see Revali still sleeping in his bed, but the feeling in his stomach did not settle.

_No._

_No._

Link squeezed his eyes shut, harder than before, and forced himself to imagine Sidon’s toothy grin and his loud, light laughter.

He thought of the times where Sidon brought Link to Ralis Pond and how they danced in the moonlight, the fireflies joining them.

He thought of the times where they would sneak off during important meetings and banquets to hide somewhere and whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears.

He thought of the time that Sidon had gotten down on one knee to ask for his hand in marriage and how Link cried because it was the best moment in his life.

He thought of how tenderly Sidon kissed him.

How he held him at night.

How he cared for him.

How he loved him.

How he was waiting for Link to come back so they can be together again.

And Link smiled.

Of course.

Of course, Sidon loved him and he loved Sidon.

Of course.

He wiped his eyes and laid back down, snuggling under the blankets.

 

The only thing that mattered was him and Sidon.

Just him and Sidon.

Just him and Sidon.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, i'm so sorry this is out so late!! ;;;A;;;


	11. Passage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuta, a boy from Lurelin Village, gets kidnapped.  
> Revali and Link waste no time going after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **me:** the last update was late, so I’m gonna make sure this one is early to make up for it!!!  >:)  
>  **me, 3 weeks later, slowly picking away at a late update once again:**  
> 
> 
> jokes aside i took my time on this one because i did Not Want To Write That Fight Scene. And you can totally tell i didn't want to sakjghgsj. this chapter is long af (23 pages!?!? an update hasn't been this long since chapter 3) so i guess that makes up for taking awhile? aaaaaaaaaahahahaahha
> 
> Lyrics used are from Hurt by Five Inch Nails, Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade, and You Are the Coffin by Flatsound

 

 

 

R E V A L I

 

 _The needle tears a hole_  
_The old familiar sting_  
_Try to kill it all away_  
_But I remember everything_

 

“They took my son! They took my poor son, Zuta!”

Revali woke up the next morning to the sound of a woman screaming just outside the inn. She was sobbing hysterically to the point where it was hard to discern what she was actually saying.

“Z-Zuta...Zuta, I’m so sorry…!”

Revali sat up in his bed and rubbed at his eyes. He grumbled to himself, knowing that, as a Champion, it was unacceptable for him to just roll over and ignore a call of a distress.

With a yawn, he quickly rebraided his hair, which he had let down the night prior, stood up out of the bed, and stretched before we went to go leave the inn.

He was surprised, however, to see Link just exiting the building to go investigate with brows furrowed slightly in worry. His hair was a disheveled mess along with his clothes, which led Revali to believe that he had jumped right out of bed to rush outside without taking even a second to make himself presentable.

Revali was about to follow him out when he glanced over at Link’s bed to see his scarf thrown on the end in a heap.

Seeing that Link had just tossed it and left it there like it was nothing, he felt like he was just stabbed. He stared at it for a moment before he slowly walked over to it to grab it and quickly throw it around his neck before turning to leave, trying his best to not think about it too much.

He walked out of the inn and down the steps in front to see Link hurry to a Hylian woman who was sobbing uncontrollably on the ground with a Hylian man holding her and a small boy close while consoling the both of them. Others were circled around them, talking amongst themselves with scared, hushed voices.

Once Link approached, the circle opened for him to enter and he went right to the bawling woman to crouch down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Kiana, what happened? Are you okay?”

The Hylian woman turned her head up to look at Link, tears streaming down her face and snot leaking from her nose. She opened her mouth to speak, but a choked sob came out before she could actually talk. “Link...Oh, I’m...I’m so glad you’re here…” She sniffled unsuccessfully and another blob of mucus pooled out of her nostril. “They...Th-They…”

“Who?” Link asked calmly, his forehead creasing.

“The monsters,” the man that held Kiana said for her. “The group of monsters that you’re here for.”

Link was about to say something, but Kiana cut him off by howling, “He a-always liked...to wander off! Z-Zuta loved to explore...and I let him! I thought it...it would be safe i-if he stayed close to the vill-village...but they took him! And it’s all my fault!” She broke down again, her words faltering into ugly cries. “I should’ve known not to let him go out with...with all those monsters around…”

“Mama, it’s not your fault,” the little boy that clung to his mother whimpered, tears clinging to the corner of his eyes.  

“It isn’t _anyone’s_ fault. ” Link reached out to pat the child’s head and he cracked a smile at both him and Kiana. “We’ll go save him, so don’t you worry.”

The boy smiled, but who was assumably his father blinked at Link curiously. “‘We’?”

Link nodded. “Yeah. I brought someone with me to help.”

Revali’s heart nearly bounded of his chest when Link turned around to look and everyone else followed suit. He suddenly was incredibly worried that he didn’t braid his hair right when he first woke up in his groggy state and that he looked as horrendous as Link did.

Either way, he stayed still with his arms crossed and flicked his head up, trying to look proud and confident for the spectators even though he was fussing over his looks in his mind.

“This is Revali, the Rito Champion who was just resurrected. Here’s here to help.”

Everyone’s mouths opened into small ‘o’s and their eyes twinkled in awe of having one of the resurrected Champions in their presence.

That certainly made Revali feel better.

“So the rumors really _are_ true,” the man that held Kiana said. “The Champions really have been resurrected…”

Revali smirked and took a step forward, the circle of onlookers again parting to let him through. He walked towards his companion and the small family. “Yes, it’s true. I’m Revali, Champion of the Rito people. I’ve come to help with those beasts that have been jeopardizing the area.” Once he reached them, he shrugged and scoffed. “You’re lucky that I was the Champion picked to come here. I’m an excellent tracker and can easily figure out where they took your son in no time.”

Link rose an eyebrow. “You are?”

Squinting, Revali clicked his beak and said shortly, “Yes. I am.”

While he wasn't necessarily _perfect_ at tracking, he gained a lot of experience during his old days of hunting that made him better than most.

Kiana broke the hard gaze between them by letting out another sob and murmuring “I’m so thankful that the two of you are here...I wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t here to help us.”

Revali managed to give her a warm smile and said, “It’s our pleasure,” before looking back over at Link with a hard expression. “We’ll leave now.”

“Now? Before breakfast?” Link asked, looking baffled and almost angry.

The Rito rolled his eyes almost to the back of his head. “Yes, Link. Before breakfast.”

“Are you sure? Not even a quick bite?”

Narrowing his eyes, Revali hissed, “No. The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can leave and forget about your ugly face.”

Link’s lips curled into a frown and he almost looked offended. He grumbled to himself for a moment before he snapped, _“Fine._ Gods, I’ll go get my things then.”

“Great. Get my bow, too,” Revali called out to Link, who stood up and turned around to head back inside, grumbling quietly to himself again.

It was Revali’s turn to console Kiana, so he crouched down and softly put a wing on her shoulder, making her weeping calm just a bit. “Kiana, was it?” When she meekly nodded, he continued. “Don’t worry. We’ll get your son back as soon as we can. Where did you last see him?”

The tiny boy next to her spoke up, startling the Rito as he had forgotten that he was there, clutching to his parents and hiding behind them. “I saw him last. He was playing on the hill.”

“Yes, Zuta was over on the hill in Gogobi Shores, right outside the village,” the man who held onto his family said. “We heard him screaming, so we ran there. When we got there, we saw a pack of bokoblins carrying him off, heading east. I tried to go after them, but lost sight of them quickly.” His face fell and went dark with guilt as he explained what happened.

Revali gave him a nod. “Thank you. That will help us find them quicker.”

“Catch,” Link suddenly and flatly called out to Revali, who turned around just in time to catch the bow that he threw at him.

The avian held back a glare and instead attached the bow to his back while he stood up. “Thanks.”

Link ignored Revali and gave his attention to the distraught family again while he adjusted the straps on the bag he had just put on. “We’ll be back soon with Zuta. I promise.”

“Th-Thank you...the both of you...so much,” Kiana choked out, her sobs lowering into small whimpers and hiccups.

“Yes, thank you,” the man that held her gruffly said.

“You’re welcome.” Revali sidestepped away from the parents and child to peer over at his partner.

“Let’s go then,” Link muttered and then walked towards the east exit of the village, the Rito following him towards Gogobi Shores.

 

~~~

 

“‘Ugly face’, huh?” Link asked out of nowhere, watching Revali carefully comb the hill for tracks.

“What?”

“‘The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can leave and forget about your ugly face.’ That’s what you said. Do you really think I have an ugly face?”

Revali cringed, trying hard to keep his eyes focused on the ground even though he wasn’t really looking for the tracks anymore now that Link had asked that question so out of the blue.

“What, are you offended by me calling you ugly, Link?” he forcibly scoffed.

“No!” The Hylian blew a raspberry. “I was just-”

Glancing at Link, Revali smirked and mockingly cooed, “No, Link. I don’t think you’re ugly.”

“Good. I-I mean...not like I would care anyway.”

“Of course,” Revali said snidely and looked back down at the ground.

The grass was making it harder to find tracks to follow, but he could just barely see a patch of flattened grass a few yards away on the other side of the hill. He stared at it for a moment before striding over towards it, Link trailing behind him while scratching his head.

“I mean. I’m engaged you know. With Sidon. So, it doesn’t matter what you think of me, really-”

Why was he suddenly acting so weird? And why did he have to bring _him_ up?

Slowly, Revali looked over his shoulder at Link with an expression that was not too short of a glare. “I’m sorry, if it doesn’t matter so much, then why would you ask? Sure seems like it matters to you for some reason.” He swung his head back in front of him and continued to walk. “And you don’t have to remind me that you’re engaged. It’s not like I’m going to _flirt_ with you.”

Link jumped a bit and then stammered, “I-I! I didn’t-!”

The Rito scoffed, nearing the suspicious patch of grass that he noticed. “Not like there’s anything about you to compliment anyway,” he muttered, just loud enough for Link to hear.

Surprisingly, Link didn’t make any sort of offended sound or any sort of retort behind him. Instead, he was only silent, which somehow made the sea-salt filled air heavier.

Revali was only a few steps away from the flattened grass when Link suddenly blurted out with an odd sense of urgency, “Revali, what were we before the Calamity?”

Everything in Revali’s body immediately stopped at those words.

His heart stopped beating, his mind started short-circuiting, and his body went numb. Again, he looked over his shoulder at the Hylian behind him that looked as surprised as he was over his outburst.

He could feel his own eyes grow wide while he intensely stared at Link, waiting for him to wave what he said off or say “nevermind”, but there was only the ocean breeze whirling around them and Link simply only avoided the ave’s gaze.

Revali stared at Link and found himself delving into the depths of his mind to ponder over that question.

What _were_ they?

Well, that was a hard question to answer.

They had been everything and nothing at once.

Two people in love that remained nothing until their very last moments together.

Two people that had lifted each other out of their own darknesses.

Two people that had reminded each other that there was light and hope in the world because that’s what they were to one another. They were each other’s light without a word of acknowledgment between them. There was nothing but silent nods and flustered glances.

He had loved Link, and somehow Link had loved him back.

But no matter how hard Revali wished that things could go back to the way they were, back when things had made sense, it could never.

So, what were they? How was he supposed to answer such a question?

Had they actually been anything?

Either way, it didn’t matter. Even if they were, it’s not like he could actually tell Link anyway.

Revali let out something that was an awkward mix between a laugh, snort, and scoff. “What kind of question is that? We were friends...if you could even say that. Bitter rivals if anything.” He twisted back around ahead of him and mindlessly added coyly, “What, were you hoping that we were something more?”

Link sputtered loudly and shrilly yelled, “No! Gods, I was just asking!”

Revali’s heart was pattering and he felt himself sweating over this exchange, but once he came to the patch of grass he had had his eye on, it ceased. What he saw was so worrying that he fixated on it, shutting Link out.

From the way that the grass was flattened and disturbed, it was clear that there was a struggle. Which, of course, he assumed there would be, but the nearby tracks along with that told him that this Zuta kid was kidnapped a lot more violently and forcibly than he had expected.

“I mean, I know we were _friends._ Everyone keeps telling me that we were,” Link kept blabbering on to himself, but Revali could barely hear him over the sound of his own breathing, due to him putting all his focus on the grass in front of him. “Sidon said we were best friends, but I can’t imagine that.”

Link’s voice was far off in the distance as Revali crouched closer to the ground when he thought he saw something he hoped he wouldn’t see splattered on the bright, green grass.

Blood.

Not too much of it, but enough that it seriously unsettled him.

His eyes combed the area again for any signs of where the monsters had taken the boy and luckily he noticed a very faint trail in the grass that led away from the shores and further to the east.

“And, I don’t know, I had that memory that came to me and-” Link continued to ramble a million miles away from Revali.

Revali could see that there were drops of blood along the trail. Whatever injury those bokoblins inflicted on Zuta wasn’t life-threatening, or else there would be a lot more blood, but he was definitely very hurt.

“...and I guess I’m just confused. You know, with everyone back, I-”

“Oh, for the love of Hylia, would you stop your incessant yammering? We have a job to do! A child’s life on the line and you’re making it _very_ hard to focus!” Revali snapped and briskly stood back up. He swerved around to face Link, who looked embarrassed, like he had only just grasped that he was babbling to himself like a complete moron. “I found the trail, and there’s blood. It’s definitely Zuta’s so we better hurry.”

The flustered look on Link’s face quickly hardened to a more serious one and he nodded. “Lead the way, then.”

And with that, Revali turned around on his heels and ran, following the trail and the bloodied grass with Link close behind.

 

~~~

 

Of course, naturally, it began to rain once Revali was able to follow the tracks.

The heavens cried so hard that the falling rain was awfully dense and Revali could feel each drop hit him through his feathers.

And, because it was raining, they had to hurry and get to the end of the tracks as soon as possible so that the rain wouldn’t wash away the blood or make the tracks in the grass even harder to see.

The blood and faint footprints led away from the hill on Gogobi Shores, down the sand, and up the nearby cliff, which had blood smeared upwards, leading Revali to believe that Zuta had been dragged up the side of the cliff when the bokoblins that had him scaled up it. As Revali and Link climbed further up, there was more and more blood, which meant that the poor boy was carelessly dragged up against the rock and got gashes from its sharp edges.

Revali hated the idea of climbing up a cliff, but he reluctantly did it anyway with a frown on his face, afraid that he would lose the tracks in the rain if he had simply flown up to the top. He struggled, but of course, Link scaled up with ease like a bug and even made an effort to look down at Revali with a snide grin on his face.

The Rito would reply with a scowl, refusing to let it get to him.

 

The trail and the drops of blood continued across the ridge that the cliff led to and up another cliff. Once the two of them finally reached to top of the second cliff, which was a lot taller and rougher than the last, they came to another level of Mount Dunsel, where there was a large, beautiful pond that rippled from the raindrops that came from above.

Revali was quite pleased, and a bit surprised, that they were able to follow the trail for this long with all that rain, so he kept running along it with a small smile across his beak when he saw something that instantly made him slow down to a halt.

Link had run right into him from behind, but still, the Rito did not budge at all.

“What? Did you lose the tracks?” the Hylian behind him asked and stepped around him to see, but Revali could not answer.

His heart was beating into his chest, harder and faster than it ever had before. His breath quickened at such a pace that he couldn’t get any air, and all the muscles in his body became heavy.

The tracks led to another cliffside, right into the rocks…

Right to where a Guardian Stalker sat, facing them.

_Th...That’s…_

 

He could feel his feathers ruffle all the way out and his legs started to shake.

 

_That’s what…._

 

He took a step back.

 

_That’s what killed Koni…_

 

“Revali?” Link said behind him and grabbed his wing. “Revali, what’s wrong?!” He pulled, trying to get the avian to turn around and face him, but Revali was so fixed on that Guardian that he could not be moved an inch.

 

_Fire._

The fires that spread across the village and burned everything down a century ago blazed so hot in his mind that he felt it start to burn his own skin.

 

_Night._

 

Everything around him suddenly got dark; the cloudy morning sky turned an obsidian black without any stars to light it.

 

_Cries._

 

The screams and cries of his people being slaughtered rang in his head.

 

_Blood._

 

The small drops of Zuta’s blood grew, coating the entire grass around him and staining the bright green with crimson.

 

_Guardians._

 

The Guardian that leaned up against the cliffside flashed to life. Its eye began to glow a blinding ultramarine, and all the intricate swirls of light around its entire body radiated a bright ruby red.

 

_Death._

 

This thing it...it killed so many people. It killed and destroyed everything he had ever cared for.

 

_Koni._

 

It killed Koni.

 

ItkilledKoniItkilledKoniItkilledKoniItkilledKoniItkilledKoniItkilledKoniItkilledKoniItkilledKoni

 

Revali let out a piercing cry so loud and shrill that it made his own ears ring, and he whipped out his bow to point it at the Guardian, whose eyes still focused on him with that glaring blue.

He sidestepped to his left, hyperfocused on the machine that was the embodiment of everything he had ever lost.

“You...you _f-fucking..._ Y-You,” Revali warbled incoherently, his voice still an ear-splitting shriek. “You...you t-took them...e-everything...Everything is g-gone…!”

The grass got wetter with blood and it splashed underneath his feet as he took his steps. The Guardian remained still, but its lights still flashed at him.

 _“Revali!”_ Someone from far away called out to him, so far away that he could barely hear it.

“...All...It’s a-all…!” He continued to cry, bow and arrow still at the ready even though his wings were shaking like a leaf.

 _“Revali!”_ the person cried out again, their voice just a bit closer than before, but still too far away to reach him.

Then the Guardian’s eyes began to whirl faster, beeping and flashing a red light on Revali.

“You killed my mom!”

He was about to release the arrow when suddenly he felt only air beneath him when he took another step and he felt himself start to fall.

“Revali!” Link shouted so loudly and close to him that it shattered the hallucination that trapped Revali in the hellscape of his own mind.

Revali blinked and when he opened his eyes, the sky was still the dark gray-blue it had been before. Blood was no longer coating the entire ground and there were no blue or ruby red lights glowing on the guardian. It was completely and utterly dead and probably had been for well over a hundred years.

And, coming to his senses, he realized that he was standing on the very edge of the cliff with one leg hanging off the side; Link was grabbing onto one of his arms tightly, keeping him from falling while he was drowning in a waking nightmare.

Revali gasped and then scrambled to get back onto solid ground with the aid of Link. Once he was safe on land, his bow and arrow fell out of his quaking hands and he wrapped his wings around himself, his entire body trembling.

His breath was shallow and uneven, and his emerald eyes that were full of tears he hadn’t noticed attached themselves on the ground to avoid Link’s gaze. Thick tears continued to flow and Link continued to hold onto his arms tightly and peered up at him. Revali tried his absolute best to contain them now that he was aware of them, but despite his efforts, tears kept streaming down his feathers to mix with the rain that was still falling.

Those visions were gone now, but the fear that they brought along with them still inhabited Revali’s entire being.

“Revali, are you okay? What happened?” Link asked in the warmest, softest, _kindest_ way possible.

Somehow that made it all so much worse.

Revali only responded with a weak hiccup and stuttering whisper. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t believe that Link just had to see him like that.

Link shook his head and his grip around Revali’s wings tightened. “You have nothing be sorry about,” he said a voice that was smooth like honey, so eerily reminiscent of the way that Link had spoken to him before everything.

Before the fires. Before the screams. Before the slaughter. Before death.

Something made Revali’s eyes lift up from the grass to meet Link’s eyes. To see the way they sparkled up at him, despite the rain and despite the fact that Revali just had fallen apart and showed just how much of a wreck he really was.

Revali choked on air and he trembled more.

Link was wrong. He had _so_ much to be sorry about.

If he hadn’t been so weak all those years ago, then he could’ve stopped all the bloodshed that happened right below him on Vah Medoh.

Maybe if he hadn't been killed, he could’ve helped Link and Zelda find another way to stop Ganon and the Great Calamity wouldn’t have happened.

Maybe Link could have fulfilled his promise to ‘come back for him’ and they could’ve…

Maybe…

Maybe…

“Revali? Hey…” Link started again in that voice that was so soft and sweet the sound of the rain almost overpowered it.

There was something about the way that Link talked to him then that made everything going inside of him too much to bear. His legs buckled in and he collapsed into Link, his haggard breaths breaking into ugly sobs.

Link let out a little, surprised gasp but said nothing more and simply held Revali as he wailed and wept into him. Wrapping his arms around him, the person that had once been Revali’s shining ray of hope comforted him as he continued to cry over absolutely everything.

Warm.

He was so warm.

  


L I N K

 

 _The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting_  
_Could it be that we have been this way before?_  
_I know you don't think that I am trying_ _  
I know you're wearing thin down to the core_

 

Link held Revali close for a couple of minutes, patting and rubbing his back as he cried about...something. But by the way that Revali had collapsed into him and the way that his voice that was always so flat and sharp cracked and shook, Link knew it was over something very awful.

It was strange how his first instinct was to cradle the Rito in his arms and soothe him instead of pushing him away, considering that he hated him.

Kind of.

Revali’s cries calmed and his breath became steady, and so with a sniff, he pulled himself away, keeping his eyes on the ground in what was probably shame. “I’m sorry. I can’t...I can’t believe you had to see me like that.” He wrapped his wings around himself again and took a step back away from Link.

“Listen,” Link said. “Don’t be sorry. It’s okay.”

Without a word, Revali shook his head and then turned so that his back was facing the dead Guardian.

Link had met all kinds of people during his travels across Hyrule, including people that had episodes similar to this. With that coming to mind, he wondered if the Guardian triggered something for Revali, somehow, and made him freak out like that.

Regardless of what exactly happened, Revali was absolutely terrified of it, and while this could easily be a newfound way to ridicule and mock him, the thought of making fun of Revali in any way was far from Link’s mind.

He looked over at it and could just barely see the tracks and small drops of blood that led directly to the Guardian when he squinted. It was definitely weird that the trail led there, and from the state that his partner was in, he figured that he would have to be the one to investigate even though he wasn’t much of a tracker like what Revali claimed to be.

“The Guardian...Did it...” He trailed off when trying to come up with a proper question to ask the Rito that was still shaking and staring at the ground.

Revali didn’t need the full question and nodded silently.

“Okay. I’ll go over and check it out. You stay here,” Link said and then went to follow the faint tracks.

 

There was no doubt about it. It led to the old machine and then just stopped abruptly. Although, when he looked down at it, he could see that, while the Guardian’s body was covered in moss, showing that it had been off since the Calamity, its legs weren’t. They were dirty, sure, but they weren’t mossy.

Mulling about this in his mind, he walked around to its side to look it over more and examine it, when he noticed that there was an opening into the mountain right behind it, just peeking out from behind the Guardian’s body.

Then it clicked.

He swung his head behind him to shout out to Revali, “I think that they used the Guardian to hide a passageway into the mountain! That’s surprisingly smart of them.”

There was no response, so Link continued. “I’m going to see if I can push it off the side. You stay there.”

He turned back toward the machine and groaned quietly to himself, knowing that pushing this thing alone was going to be no easy feat. Still determined, he cracked his knuckles to prepare himself to try and shove that huge thing off the cliff.

 

It took longer than Link would have liked and it took more out of him than he wanted to admit. By the time that the Guardian was teetering on the edge of the cliff, he was running on fumes and his skin was burning, even with the cold rain drizzling on him.

With his last bit of strength, he twisted around and leaned his back into the Guardian and pushed that way, grunting all the while.

The machine got nudged just enough so that it finally teetered all the way over and fell far down below with a loud crash. Link stumbled around on his feet for a couple of seconds before he caught himself and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He looked over to where the Guardian had been and, as he figured he would, saw an opening that was definitely deep and went into the mountain’s edge.

“Nice,” he muttered to himself with a proud grin before he stood up and began to walk towards Revali, who had not moved or said anything during that time. “I pushed it off the side and I was right. There was a passageway behind it. They went in through there.” Once he got to it, he bent down to pick up the bow and arrow that was still on the ground and offered them to the avian. When Revali stayed completely still, he touched one of his wings and murmured, “Hey, it’s gone. I promise. It’s okay.”

Revali squeezed himself tighter as his eyes went up to Link’s warily.

Link smiled and held onto his wing again. Gently, he pulled him away from his place by the edge of the cliff, looking up at him and smiled tenderly. “It’s gone. I promise.”

It took a few seconds before Revali completely turned around, and all of his tension lifted when he saw that there really was nothing there to scare him again. He let out a relieved sigh, took the bow and arrow and stood up straight, trying to gain his composure, no doubt.

Still, Link refused to let go of his arm as they walked together to the opening, where Revali, who impressively seemed to be mostly okay already after taking a deep breath, stopped and peered into the entrance. “You’re right. It definitely leads further in. Though it looks narrow enough that we have to go single file.” His eyes shifted to look at Link beside him and while he certainly seemed calm, composed and over what had happened to him only a few minutes ago, the intense fear in his eyes was still there behind the green.

As much as Link wanted to softly smile at him to silently console him, something told him that that would just humiliate Revali by addressing the fact he was still very shaken up. So, instead, he kept a serious and flat expression and nodded. “Who do you think should go in first?”

Revali’s eyes flicked around and he gulped before saying, “Y-You, probably. You’re much better at close-combat, especially in a closed space. At least, you _were._ ”

Nodding again, Link stepped forward and into the opening, finding solace in the fact that the passageway was lit with torches so they wouldn’t have to figure out how to light their way.

“And…” Revali croaked behind him when he entered, making him peek over his shoulder.

It took the Rito what felt like a hundred years to gulp again and weakly mutter, “...Thank you.”

Link couldn’t hold back a smile at that and then turned and headed inside, out of the rain into this strange and unfamiliar passageway.

 

Trying to make up for lost time, the two of them rushed down the winding path through Mount Dunsel. The path never diverged so it was easy to find their way, but it twisted and curled, making it hard to run at full speed.

Eventually, when rounding a corner, they could hear the echoes of a child crying, making Link stop running and signal Revali to stay where he was.

Ever so slowly, Link peeked around the corner to look at where the passageway led in to.

There was a large open area and in the corner, there was a big cage hanging on a pole with a crying Zuta inside with a blue bokoblin beside it keeping watch of him. Across the room were a few other ones of varying colors, sitting on rocks and eating something barbarically.

A small handful of bokoblins didn’t worry him at all, but then his eyes fell on a large, golden moblin sitting on a boulder in the other corner of the room, chowing down on a big slab of meat.

That was going to be a bit of an issue.

He drew back away from the corner to turn to Revali. “I counted five bokoblins and a golden moblin inside. Zuta is in a cage in the corner and one of the bokoblins are guarding him.”

The Rito blinked. “Hm, a golden moblin? Really? That's rare.”

“Yeah.” Link nodded. “How about you shoot one of the bokoblins and then I go in and-” He stopped when he saw Revali already taking the bow off of his back and grabbing an arrow out of his quiver.

“I’m way ahead of you. Don’t boss me around.”

Link smiled at Revali and, just like that, the Rito ran around the corner and shot the bokoblin by the cage without missing a beat. He lept forward, using his wings for extra distance and height, then grabbed the monster by the throat with his talons to knock it onto the ground. Holding it down by its neck, it writhed around under his weight before Revali quickly took out another arrow and shot it between the eyes.

Link rushed in, unsheathing his sword as Revali killed the first bokoblin. The other monsters in the room jumped from their seats to retrieve their weapons for the fight.

The golden moblin grabbed a dragonbone club that lay beside it, clicking its teeth at the approaching Hylian. In a low, ugly voice, it croaked, “Kill them. I want that boy for my supper!” at the smaller monsters, who collectively shrieked in response as they charged at both the Rito and Hylian.

He never heard a moblin talk before _ever,_ so he was pretty taken aback by it for a second.

Link’s face scrunched into a look of disgust. “Eugh, that’s fucking creepy,” he hissed under his breath while he took his shield off of the front of his bag to block a swing from a bokoblin’s club.

As the attacking monster staggered backward from the block, another jumped over it to hit Link with its club. It was stopped midair when Revali shot an arrow into its throat with a _shk._ It tumbled down to the ground, blood already spurting out from its throat and coating itself as it lay there on the floor dying.

Link took a second to look over at Revali who was smiling at him. “I could’ve handled that, you know!” He called out and kicked a bokoblin was running at him.

“Sure,” Revali taunted before ducking to avoid an attack from the large moblin and shooting another arrow at a bokoblin that was rushing at him from the side.

Scoffing, Link slashed at the monster that was pursuing him and bashed its head in with his shield with all his strength, causing it to fall onto the ground in a heap.

They had picked off most of the bokoblins in a short amount of time, but now there was one left and the massive moblin was still very much alive and taking swings at them that they managed to dodge as they took care of the smaller monsters first.

Link somersaulted towards the moblin and, before it could react, jumped and sliced at its chest. It out a short cry and stumbled back; hurt, but still determined to fight, shown by it screaming and making another attempt at hitting Link with its dragonbone club.

Revali killed off the last remaining bokoblin, which was easy considering it was just a runty red one, and then shot an arrow at the moblin. It immediately threw its head towards the Rito and readied another blow at him. With a smirk, Revali reached for his quiver to grab an arrow for what could’ve been the kill shot, but his face fell when he felt that there were no arrows left.

“Shit!” he spat and then rolled out of the way just in time, evading being bashed into the ground.

Link dashed forward to slash at the golden monster’s legs, giving Revali enough time to rip an arrow out of his last victim’s head. Again it let out a cry and staggered a bit, but recuperated in no time to attack.

He threw his shield up right before it landed a hit on him and Link sidestepped around it to jab it into its side. Revali shot an arrow that was aimed for the space in between its eyes, but the moblin quickly turned to face Link when it was right about to hit. So, instead, the arrow missed its target; it clinked into the wall of the cave and fell to the ground.

“Damn it, Link!” the ave snapped and dashed for another one of his previous victims, choosing the one he shot in the throat to pull the arrow out of. It came out with a disgusting _squelch_ as more blood seeped out and Revali swiftly took aim with the bloodied arrow.

Link kept fighting with the creature one-on-one; breaking through its defenses to land a few hits before it tried to do the same to him.

“Keep it still, would you?!” Revali barked behind him.

“Well, that’s a _kind of impossible to do,”_ Link shouted back, hopping to the side to avoid a swing. “And aren’t you supposed to be an amazing archer?! Just take the shot!”

Revali retorted, squawking, “Gods, shut up! I’m just feeling a little under the weather!”

Then, when the moblin was still for half a second, Revali took the opportunity to shoot the arrow. It whizzed through the air and made its mark. The head of the arrow successfully hit the monster right in between the eyes.

After wobbling around on its legs for a short moment, the moblin fell to the ground with a loud crash. It twitched for a second but then went still when Revali took an awfully excessive measure to go over to its body and grab its throat with a talon to squeeze it to make sure it was dead. Crimson oozed out like a jelly donut and Revali took his foot off to shake the blood off and then twisted around to look at the cage in the corner.

Link was nothing short of shocked when Revali was the one to quickly turn around and run to Zuta in the cage as soon as the moblin was most undoubtedly dead. It was weird how he rushed there with such a sense of urgency.

Revali swung the door of the cage wide open and Zuta jumped right into Revali’s arms, overwhelmed with relief and joy that someone was able to take him away from the awful place. The poor boy was sobbing and hiccuping as tears streamed violently down his face.

“Hey, hey. You’re fine now, so you don’t need to cry anymore.” The Rito smiled in a way that was warmer and softer than Link had ever seen him smile...or at least, of what he could remember.

He could feel his head start to get foggy for some reason.

Really, really foggy.

“Th-They...they were going to...to eat me,” the boy quaked through sobs, tears refusing to stop.

“Well, we took care of them, so you’re safe now,” Revali said before his smile fell and his brows furrowed in seriousness. “Now, where are you hurt? We should probably take care of that.”

As Link walked closer to the two of them, he saw that Zuta was so covered in blood that it was hard to see where the blood was even coming from. Link stayed still and his forehead creased, worried.

Zuta sniffed then took a shaky breath to try and steady himself before he spoke. “Th-They cut my leg real bad when they first got me. I...I got lots of cuts from the rocks when...when they were c-climbing. Then my arm got hurt when they threw me in the cage.” He couldn’t hold it in anymore and broke out into another sob. “It was so scary, mister!”

Link’s head got even foggier and it made it hard to focus on what was in front of him.

“I know, that must’ve been terrifying for you,” Revali cooed. “But we’re going to have to tend to your wounds before we do anything else, alright?”

The boy sniffed and then nodded.

Revali looked behind him at Link, his voice lowering and hardening as he addressed the Hylian man. “Link, I’m assuming you have bandages in your pack or something?”

Link’s head was so hazy that it took him longer than usual to process the question. “Y-Yeah…” he stammered.

The avian stared at him angrily and raised his eyebrows at him, his beak tightening into a flat line.

“Oh! Right, right,” Link muttered before he swung his bag off of his shoulders. Swiftly, he opened it and took out the bandages that were inside as well as a leather canteen full of water for washing Zuta’s injuries. “Put him on the ground.”

As Revali did what he said and sat Zuta down on the ground, the boy rubbed his teary eyes. “W-Wait. Link?” With his thick tears mostly gone, he was able to properly see in front of him and his face broke into a smile when he saw Link walking towards him to sit down and patch him up.

Link beamed and nodded. “Yeah, it’s me! I’m glad that you’re alright, Zuta.”

The young boy rubbed at his eyes again to look at the Rito that was now sitting beside him.

“That’s Revali. He came to help me save you,” Link explained as he gently grabbed Zuta’s arms to pour some water from the canteen onto his wounds to clean them.

Zuta eyes widened and a thousand stars began to sparkle in them. He threw his head back to Link and asked with an amazing amount of energy, “You mean like the Revali from all those old stories?!”

The corner of Revali’s eyes crinkled as his beak broke into a prideful smirk. “In the flesh!”

The boy’s face brightened into a wider smile full of awe, having one of the old Champions from the stories being one of the ones to save him. That made Revali chuckle softly.

When he laughed, Link’s head got even mistier and it started to pound. He could barely see in front of him as black speckled his vision.

“Link, are you alright?” Revali asked and reached out for him, his brows drawing in together.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Link grumbled and then put some bandages in Revali’s hand. “Here, let’s just patch him up.”

The ave hesitantly took the bandages and obliged, beginning to dress Zuta’s wounds.

 

Once they were done, Link asked Zuta, “Do you think you can walk?”

The kid tried to stand but then cried out in pain and stumbled around on his feet before leaning into Link’s side. “My legs hurts too much...I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Revali said and then crouched down beside him. “I can carry you. You can even ride my shoulders if you like.”

“Really?!” Zuta shouted with a massive smile.

“Of course, just so long as you mind the bow.” The Rito motioned to his back with his thumb.

It didn’t take long for the boy to scramble onto Revali’s shoulder, his excited grin never leaving his face. He wrapped his tiny arms around Revali’s neck as the Champion stood up and held onto his legs.

“Alright then, let’s get you to your mother-” Revali began, but then suddenly Link’s head got even foggier than before and he started to feel awfully dizzy.

His entire body began to shiver and he couldn’t move at all.

“Link?” He could hear Revali say, but it was distant as his eyes began to burn and his vision went totally black.

Then something came to him.

 

~~~

 

Link had been on his way to the training grounds at Hyrule Castle then, more than likely going to practice his swordplay there while there was still daylight.

However, something had stopped him when he was walking down the stone path that led to the grounds. He heard cries of a child nearby, and Link was just about to rush to their aid when he saw a flash of navy and halted again.

Revali, who looked like he had just been practicing his archery there, threw his bow onto his back to make his way over to a tiny crying Hylian girl no more than eight years old sitting under one of the trees on the edge of the ground.

Something told him that back then Link was filled with curiosity over Revali, because this had been around the time that the Champions first got together and everyone was still a mystery to each other. So to settle his curiosities of the Rito, he decided to step off of the path and lean against the side of the castle to peek around the corner and watch him closely.

The avian looked about him, tossing his braids, making sure that no one was around before he crouched down in front of the girl. “Hey…” Link could hear him coo in a voice that was so soft and sweet it surprised him, considering that he had only seen the Rito act stiff and cynical so far at that point. “What’s wrong?”

The little girl jumped and let out a little gasp at seeing the Champion right in front of her and hopped onto her feet, sniffing and rubbing at her nose and eyes to try and get rid of any evidence that she had been crying. She curtsied at him, saying, “Ch-Champion Revali! I’m...I’m so sorry for disturbing you.” Her eyes stuck on the ground as she put her legs together and held her arms in front of her. “N-Nothing is wrong. I’m fine.”

“There’s no reason to apologize. You weren’t disturbing me at all.” Revali smirked, staying crouched so that the two of them were eye-to-eye. “And you can’t convince me that easily. I literally just saw you crying.”

The girl’s eyes were still fixed at the ground, and she sniffed. “Y-You’re a Champion. You have much more important things to do than worry about me...”

“Not now, I don’t. I’m bored out of my mind,” He softly chuckled. “So, please, let me help.”

She rubbed at her arms and took in a shaky breath. Still refusing to meet eyes with Revali, she spoke. “Just...some other girls are being mean to me. It’s not that bad.”

Revali looked down at the girl’s arms and his eyebrows drew in together. “Your arms are covered in scratches and bruises. So are your legs. What did they do to you?”

She bit her lip and said nothing.

“It’s alright. You can tell me.”

She gave in and started to speak, but tears welled up in the girl’s eyes and her voice kept breaking with short, sharp sobs as she did. “They...they threw rocks at me...tripped me...punched and kicked me...pulled my hair...called me all sorts of bad names.” As she listed the things that were done to her, she began to break down and cry again. “They call me a runt because I’m so small and tell me that I’m w-worthless...and...m-maybe...maybe they’re right...”

Revali clicked his beak in thought, looking off to the side for a moment before he looked back at her. “You want to know something?”

The girl sniffled and her eyes rose up to meet his.

“I was actually bullied just like that, too, when I was young. The other kids would kick me and throw rocks, just like what those girls are doing to you. They called me the worst names you could ever imagine and made me feel like I wasn't worth anything either.”

That made her calm down. “R-Really?”

“Yes, really. I was bullied relentlessly every single day.” Revali grinned and then held out his arms. “And look at me now! I'm one of the Champions, some of the most important and respected people in all of Hyrule. I proved them wrong.” His expression went serious and he lowered his wings to rest them on his knee. “So don't let those girls tell you what you are. Because only you can decide that for yourself.”

Her trembling frown shifted into a smile and she started to wipe away her tears while she nodded.

“There you go. Now, why don’t we go and get you patched up, alright? Some of those cuts need attention,” Revali said as he opened his arms again to pick the girl up and carry her away back inside of the castle.

Once she was in his arms, he turned around to walk through the grounds towards the path and asked her, “What’s your name, by the way?”

“S...Sitra, sir.”

“That’s a lovely name. And who exactly are these little tyrants terrorizing you?”

She was silent for a moment before she quietly answered, “They’re the other chefs’ daughters…” Fumbling with her hands and wiping her nose, she named a few girls off and told him what cruel things they each liked to do to her.

“Well,” Revali started with a snort. “If I ever cross paths with them, I’ll give them a piece of my mind and tell them not to bother you ever again.” His grin returned, crinkling his eyes as he peered down at her. “A Champion does not tolerate any bullying.”

The little girl giggled. “Thank you, Champion Revali.”  
“No need to thank me. So, one of your parents is a chef then?”

“Mhm. My mama.”

Link almost jumped out of his skin when he was brought back to reality and realized how close they were getting. He jolted away from the corner that he was peeking around and back onto the path to try and make it look like he was just innocently on his way to practice on the training grounds.

“I see. Let’s get you to your mother then and-,” Revali began as he rounded the corner, but he faltered when he saw Link there on the path and stopped right in his tracks

The Rito’s feathers ruffled just enough so that it was noticeable and he looked surprised and embarrassed that Link had caught him in the act of being warm and kind to a little girl. Then his horrified look quickly morphed into a tightly knitted frown and the brightness in his eyes left as he started to walk again, trying not to look directly at Link as he held his beak up in the air while walking past.

“Link,” Revali said flatly with a coldness in his voice that made the Hylian shudder.

Sitra tried her best to give a little bow to Link in the Rito’s arms as they went by, and Link smiled at her and gave her a small nod in reply.

He watched Revali walk down the path and back into the castle before he broke out in soft chuckles and felt his cheeks redden.

 _‘I guess that’s what he’s like when he’s not so scary, huh…’_ he remembered thinking to himself. _‘He’s kind of cute when he’s embarrassed.’_

After that, Link finally made his way to the training grounds to do what he went there for, but something told him now that he hadn’t been able to focus at all.

 

~~~

 

Link came back to the present with a start.

He must have collapsed during his flashback because now Revali was holding him and looking down at him with extreme concern, though when his eyes opened, Revali’s worried expression went to one of relief. “You did that thing again…” he said, the worry that wasn’t on his face anymore drenching his voice.

Link realized that he was sweating profusely from his flashback, but it got worse when he processed the fact that Revali was holding him close to his chest. A part of him was yelling at himself to break away from the ave, but for some reason, he stayed in his arms and sheepishly smiled up at him.“Yeah...But I’m okay,” Link murmured in a voice that was much sweeter than he had meant it to be.

The two of them locked eyes into a heavy gaze, but the both of them jolted out of it when Zuta, who they had both forgotten about at that moment, said, “Are you sure? You don’t look so good.”

Looking up at Zuta on Revali’s back, Link awkwardly smiled. “I’m fine, Zuta. Really. Anyway, we should take you back to your family.”

Revali, after finally letting go of the Hylian, asked, “Are you positive you're okay to go now? Or do you think you need to rest for a second?”

“I’m a bit lightheaded, but I’ll be fine,” Link said as he got up. His legs had fallen asleep when he was down, so he hobbled around clumsily.

“Good.” Revali stood up and tipped his head up just enough so he could see the boy that was still sitting on his shoulders. “What about you, Zuta? Are you ready to go home?”

Zuta vigorously nodded his head.

“Alright. Let’s get you back to your mother.” Revali patted Zuta’s leg and then started to walk out of the area and through the passageway, Link following close behind.

 

~~~

 

While they were in the mountain, the rain had stopped and the clouds had disappeared. They were greeted by a brilliant blue sky and were pleased to find that the crisp chill of the morning was gone and the heat of the afternoon took its place.

The three of them scaled down Mount Dunsel, crossed the beach, and finally made their way back to Lurelin Village to return Zuta to his family.

Unsurprisingly Kiana burst into thick tears when Zuta practically jumped off of Revali into her arms. She held onto him so tightly that Link was afraid that the boy was going to pop like a balloon with the way she was squeezing him.

The rest of the family rushed over and they all held each other into a tight embrace. The parents thanked the two heroes with tears in their eyes, eternally grateful that they brought Zuta back home safely, be it with some injuries.

 

The chief of the village came to personally thank them for their efforts; for not only saving Zuta but for also ridding them of the monsters that had been terrorizing the area for a few weeks.

Despite Link’s assurances that there was no need, the chief insisted that they hold a small feast in thanks and celebration that evening and that they should stay there for just one more night to take a well-deserved rest before their trip back home.

They accepted the offer, Revali with a look of pride on his face and Link with a smile full of gratitude, and they stayed to rest and celebrate.

 

That night after the feast, however, Link found it very difficult to fall asleep, even with how tired he was.

Instead, he tossed and turned in his bed at the inn, the new memories of Revali that returned to him playing over and over again in his head.

He thought about the way he had felt in those moments and how it bred a hoard of butterflies in his stomach.

He thought about how it was clear and indisputable the way he had felt towards Revali once upon a time, no matter how much he tried to deny and fight it.

Trying to push these thoughts away, he squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, trying to think about Sidon again. How he kissed him, held him, cared for him, loved him….

And while thinking of his fiancé didn’t do much to settle his stomach, his fatigue did, eventually leaving him too exhausted to continue on with his inner battle and making him succumb to sleep.

 

~~~

 

They both had planned to wake up early in the morning so that they could both return home at a reasonable time, so Link woke just when the sun was rising to go to the back of the inn where Hickory was kept.

As he put her saddle on and adjusted the saddlebags to suit her up for the journey ahead, he heard someone walking towards him. Taking a step to the side, he turned to look behind him.

There Revali was, already all packed with his bag hanging off his shoulder, fumbling with the strap. “Good morning,” he wavered, the golden light of the rising sun shrouding him and making his emerald eyes shine enchantingly.

“Good morning,” Link replied and tore his gaze away from Revali and back to his horse.

“Listen...I…” Revali began to say, though he trailed off. After letting out a soft sigh, he tried again. “I want to apologize.”

The Hylian threw his head over his shoulders to blink at the Rito. “Apologize? For what?”

“For you having to see me like that yesterday. When I had that…” he thought for a moment, trying to come up with the right word before he threw his hands in the air in defeat. His voice rose and became bitter in spite of himself. “...meltdown! It was pathetic. Forget that you ever saw that.”

"Well, I didn’t think it was very pathetic,” Link replied, shrugging with a smile. Then he let out a short laugh and said, “And I could say the same, too.”

Revali squinted at him.

“I _meant_ that I’m sorry you had to see me like that, too. Y’know, when I spaced out or whatever like that. I’m sorry that happened again.”

Revali’s eyes widened as if realizing something, and he rose an eyebrow. “Did you get a memory back when it happened?”

Link’s throat tightened. “I...I think so. But it’s all a blur and I don’t remember it,” he lied, stammering.

It was clear that the avian did not believe him one bit and he opened his beak to badger him into telling the truth. But he must’ve thought better of it, because he clicked his beak closed, shifted his gaze off to the side, then opened it again to say something different. “It’s almost terrifying seeing you like that. Your skin gets so cold and your eyes glaze over. Not to mention that you actually collapsed this time. Even though I knew what was going on, you really had me in for a scare. I almost molted.”

“You think that was bad?” Link stifled a chuckle. “I nearly had a heart attack when you had your ‘meltdown’.” He air quoted ‘meltdown’ and then crossed his arms. “You almost stepped off a cliff for crying out loud.”

Revali went stiff but managed to copy Link and crossed his arms as well. He was trying to look like he wasn’t totally embarrassed, but the way his feathers slightly ruffled and the way his beak scrunched gave away how he really felt. Saying nothing, he stared down at Link and then sniffed.

Link couldn’t hold in another short laugh and when it shot out from his mouth, Revali cringed. “Don’t feel bad. I mean…” He stopped to shrug. “...we’re _both_ fucked up. Clearly. So there’s no reason to be so ashamed. I’m not going to judge you.”

Revali’s stiff posture fell and he awkwardly stood there, still staring at Link. From the look in his eyes, Link could tell he was thinking about something. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but he was holding in his breath while his emerald irises studied the Hylian for a long moment.

“Thanks,” Revali blurted when he realized how long he had been silently staring at Link. “I’ll try not to judge you.”

Link threw back his head and let out a hearty guffaw. “That’s so nice of you! Thanks!” He gave the Rito a smirk and then turned back to face Hickory, going back to adjusting her saddle and getting her ready.

The monsters were dealt with now; the reason for Link meeting Revali here was taken care of and he was able to return to his fiancé just after two days.

That’s what he had hoped for before, but now…

He honestly wanted nothing more than to stay there with Revali, even if only for one more day.

“When do you think we’ll see each other next?” Revali asked.

Link looked over to see that Revali was now beside him, a sparkle of hope hiding behind the green of his eyes.

“I don’t know,” Link replied, finding the corners of his lips turning upwards into a smile. “Just wait for another letter.”

With a snide grin, Revali said, “Is it going to be from you this time?”

Link scoffed. “Yeah, I promise it’ll actually be from me this time."

They locked eyes again and smiled at each other, the early morning sun casting the both of them in a soft golden glow. It felt like hours before Link was able to break away and climb onto Hickory’s back and grab ahold of her reins. “See you later then, Revali.”

The shine that was in the Rito’s eyes darkened, but he kept his smile on his face as he nodded and said, “Right. I’ll see you later.”

They looked at each other for another moment with tiny smiles before they both turned away, going their separate ways.

Link, riding to the north, and Revali, flying far, far away to the northeast.

  


S I D O N

 

 _I'll sleep inside of your chest_  
_And fight those thoughts in your head_  
_Some say we should take a rest_ _  
I think I'd rather be dead_

 

Sidon had been ecstatic when his fiancé returned not even two days after he had left. The prince had expected that Link would have been gone for at least a few days, so it was really a treat that he had come so early.

When he heard those distant clicks of hooves on stone, he threw his head towards the window to see Hickory trotting across the Great Zora Bridge with Link on her back. His heart started pattering against his chest in delight and he made a dash to the bridge to welcome his love home.

Link had smiled wide when he approached, but his eyes looked distant like something was on his mind.

When Sidon kissed him tenderly, he kissed him back, but it was hollow.

When Sidon embraced him, he hugged him back, but it was stiff.

Sidon had just brushed it off as fatigue, and they both carried on to have supper.

But then later that night, Link insisted on making love, even though there was this heavy, gloomy feeling behind his expression that tried its best to look sensual. As much as he wanted to obey Link’s requests, Sidon asked him if there was something wrong, to which Link responded shortly in aggravation.

“Nothing is wrong! I just really missed you and we haven’t done it for a while. I’m fine.”

Sidon eventually gave in, but he wished he hadn’t.

It was as empty and angry as it had been a month ago when they had done it.

Usually, they would hold each other close afterward, but not that night. Not the night where Sidon was so excited for Link to come back so they could laugh together and be close to one another after being apart for the first time in a long time.

Instead, Link had turned away on his side quietly, staring out the window that looked out into the distant landscape, and Sidon was left to look up at the ceiling above him, trying his best not to break.

His stomach churned.

 

Sidon felt like shit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*desperately tries not to apologize for being agonizingly late again*_
> 
> **edit:** iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii wrote a little oneshot of meelo and teba that happens during the events of this chapter... you don't NEED to read it, but it gives a little insight on meelo and teba's relationship and how it changed when revali was away. you can read it [here :)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17060663)


	12. At Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali comes back to the village to find out that something amazing has been uncovered  
> Sidon listens in on a conversation that he shouldn't have heard  
> Link has another memory returned to him and mulls over it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **me:** oh man oh geez,, 3 weeks has really snuck up on me. but im almost done!!! it's ok if i get this out a day late...i can totally finish it by then-  
>  **executive dysfunction and splatfest:** :)  
>  **me:**  
>   
>  ok but fr sorry about this taking more time than usual...and then having it be really icky and long to boot!!!! :) !!!! hahah i really wish i knew what i was doing for this one but i uhhhhhhhhhhhh most certainly did not. lots of bullshitting here, folks  
> i edited this and posted this in between splatfest battles cuz i wanted to get this out asap...so sorry that it's pretty wonky and icky!!! lol  
> Veremi and Korena are OCs that [my friend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlitImagination) and I made based off of ourselves!!! [Here's](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ear0B1SRgp4BrUirbQT1eGbN-9lAwSKI/view?usp=sharing) a drawing they did of Veremi and then [here's](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L3Rm3N1SeINfhlRATMEk-Qt8LU26P4xz/view?usp=sharing) a picture I did for Korena, even though she's...significantly less relevant sajkdg
> 
>  **ALSO UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**  
>  i wrote a oneshot with Teba and Meelo that's set during the last chapter!!! you can read it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17060663) if you haven't already...!!!
> 
> Lyrics are from Say It by Yorushika, Shark Serenade by Vermillion Lies, and Hitchcock by Yorushika

 

 

 

 

 

R E V A L I

  


_Even if its petals scatter, a peony is still a flower_

_Even if the summer ends, the memories of it are still cherished_

_Put it into words, give voice to it_

_Say it_

  


As Revali flew back to Rito Village, the setting sun highlighted the edges of the massive rock that the small village was built on.

He was more than grateful when the chilly, treacherous Tabantha winds welcomed him as he returned home. He was glad to be out of the muggy and hot air of Faron and back to where the winds were cold and brisk, as well as inviting and friendly to one who was built for the high mountains.

 

Revali flew to the Flight Range to drop off his things and rest for a bit after his flight, but he was surprised to see Meelo, Teba and his son there, even though it was early evening. They were all standing in front of a foldable target that was set up on the ground just outside the hut. The small Rito boy was holding a bow, trying to aim his arrow at the target while the other two talked to him, probably giving him pointers.

The Champion landed on the rail of the Flight Range’s landing and crossed his arms before he shouted down below with a smirk, “Teba, Meelo, what are you doing here? Don’t you have a job to do?”

All three of the Rito on the ground twisted around to look up at him. Meelo’s eyes widened and began to sparkle as his beak curled into a huge smile, and the boy beside him mirrored the same expression. Teba, however, looked shocked and startled, and perhaps even guilty at being caught away from his post. He opened his beak to speak, only able to let out a few weak stammers.

“M-Master Revali- I...um. Back so soon?”

Revali snickered and then hopped off of the rail to the snowy ground below him, flapping his wings once to soften his fall.

“That was so much faster than I thought it was going to be,” Meelo said as he took a step toward Revali, his smile still contorting his beak and his eyes still large and bright.

“I'm surprised it was that simple, too. The monsters practically led us to them the morning after I got there. So, we just found them and wiped them out before the end of the afternoon and then stayed the night,” Revali explained and shrugged. Teba's son continued to look up at him in wonder, so Revali took a step towards him and crouched to meet his eye-level. “And who might you be? I don't think we've met. Teba is your father, right?”

The boy began to fumble with the tips of his wings and his foot twisted around nervously in the snow. “Y-Yes. My name is Tulin, sir.”

“Well, it’s nice to make your acquaintance, Tulin,” Revali said before outstretching a hand for Tulin to shake.

The young boy eagerly took it and shook it, an excitable grin on his face. “It's really really nice to meet you, Champion Revali!”

Revali softly smiled. “There's no reason to be so formal. You can just call me Revali.” As he stood back up, he ajded, “Did your father play hooky to train you?”

Tulin shook his head, tossing around his tiny braid. “Nuh-uh. Dad sucks at teaching, so Meelo is telling me what you taught him.”

Teba’s feathers ruffled again and he gravelly hissed, “Tulin!”

Instead of bowing his head in shame at his father scolding him, the young boy peered up at Meelo to grin at him. Meelo lit up the air with soft giggles, his crest perking up and his hands covering his beak as he laughed.

“Anyway,” Teba croaked after he gave Meelo a little side-eyed glare. “Something happened when you were gone.”

Revali squinted at Teba curiously.

“A couple of people found a big chest buried in Passer Hill early yesterday,” Meelo chirped up excitedly, speaking for Teba. “It was full of old documents and other things from back before the Calamity.”

The navy Rito stood still as his eyes opened wide. “What?”

Teba nodded. “From what we could tell, some Rito put all the village’s important documents into a weather resistant chest, so that they wouldn’t get destroyed during the Calamity.” He crossed his arms and closed his eyes while shaking his head. “But, the Calamity must have been much worse than they thought. All the people who knew where it was hidden probably died, so everybody forgot about it, until a couple of travelers found the top of it sticking up out of the ground.”

Meelo’s eyes sparkled as he twittered, “And you’re never going to guess what was inside!”

Revali, still a bit shocked over this development, uttered, “What?” again with his eyes still open wide.

“Blueprints for the Great Eagle Bow!” Meelo excitedly said, his eyes shining like two grey stars.

The Champion blinked wildly at Meelo, utterly in disbelief, his breath getting caught in his throat. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Teba gruffly answered. “There was a blueprint for it mixed in with a lot of other weapon blueprints. It’s incredible.” He crossed his arms, adding, “Though, because the Great Eagle Bow is partially metal, only one Rito can properly craft it.”

Teba looked over at Meelo next to him, who sheepishly shuffled into place while holding a tiny frown.

Lifting an eyebrow, Revali asked, “And who is that exactly?”

“Veremi. They’re Harth’s apprentice, though at this point I’m pretty sure they’ve surpassed him in every way possible,” Teba said. “I’m sure you know that metal crafting in traditional Rito weaponry was rare enough before the Calamity, but it completely died when the only remaining metal crafters were killed. Veremi, luckily, is a total weaponry nut and traveled all across Hyrule to learn weapon crafting from all the regions with all kinds of materials. If anyone can do it, it’s them.”

The corners of Revali’s beak lifted and he felt the biggest of smiles spread out across his beak. Overcome with incredible bliss and exhilaration, he felt as light as a feather.

To think that there was a possibility that he could have the bow that was designed and crafted especially for him in his hands again.

To think that he could once again feel its weight.

It's power.

Sure, the bow that Teba had let him use was better than any regular falcon bow, but it couldn’t compare to bow that was astutely designed with his strength, talent, and style in mind.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be the same bow that he had used over a hundred years ago. He knew that.

But it would be the closest he could ever get to having things be the way they were back then.

Needless to say, Revali found himself growing more and more excited, to the point where it felt like his heart was going to deflate at any given time.

“I want to meet them,” he blurted, regretting it as the desperation in his voice was very noticeable when he spoke.

Teba blinked at him for a moment, surprised to see his master so desperate. “Uh, of course. We were going to head back to the village soon anyway,” he said and then grabbed the target his son had been practicing with to fold it and put it underneath the Flight Range.

“Alright, Tulin. Hop on up,” Teba said as he walked back to the others and crouched down for Tulin to ride his back.

“Aw, dad,” the young Rito whined. “Can’t I ride on Meelo’s back?”

Meelo’s eyes went wide and his crest stuck straight up in surprise, and then his face melted into a warm smile.

Teba looked over at Meelo, gave him something that was almost a grimace, and then sniffed. “I guess.”

With a small squeal of delight, Tulin beamed over at Meelo and then hopped over to him.

Watching him, Revali noticed that Tulin’s right leg sort of drug behind him as he walked over to Meelo; he was limping pretty badly and Revali was surprised he hadn't noticed it sooner.

_Huh._

Limp or not, Tulin still was able to jump onto the young warrior’s back and securely wrap his wings around his neck.

And with that, the three of them took off into the sky towards Rito Village.

 

Not to anyone’s surprise, Meelo dragged far behind Teba and Revali, who were flying right next to each other.

Revali looked over his shoulder to see Meelo and the young boy, both with grins on their faces as they chatted about something.

That made Revali smile himself, and as he turned his head back ahead of him, he said, “I see your son has taken quite the liking to Meelo.”

Teba huffed, “Yeah, he has. With Meelo around so much, Tulin ended up spending a lot of time around him. And for some reason, he started to look up to him.”

The navy Rito laughed. “That _is_ pretty strange that he would look up to _Meelo_ of all people. Especially when he has a much more suitable role model as a father.” He looked over at Teba and when he said nothing, he said with a more somber tone, “I noticed that Tulin is limping. Did he get hurt?”

The air suddenly became very tense as Teba looked down below him, avoiding Revali’s gaze. “Yeah. But he’s...He’s fine. There was an accident a few months ago and he got really hurt. Almost died, even. He’s still recovering.” The older Rito’s face contorted into a look of pain that Revali didn’t even think Teba was capable of making. “And that’s why he can’t fly on his own yet even though all the other kids his age can. All his injuries kind of set him back.”

“O-Oh. I’m really sorry to hear that, Teba.”

Shaking his head, Teba said, “No, it’s my fault. It was all my fault.”

He said nothing after that; he didn’t elaborate on what he meant, and from the look on his face, he didn’t plan to.

It made Revali feel awkward and guilty, having no idea what to say to maybe put him more at ease over whatever had happened.

And then he had a thought.

He knew that Teba had a wife, he saw her when he was on Vah Medoh, but he hadn’t seen them together once at all since he resurrected.

Plus, Teba had been sleeping in the Flight Range alone for who knew how long..

He couldn’t help but wonder if this “accident” had anything to do with that.

Revali glanced over at Teba from the corner of his eyes, then continued to fly in total silence beside him.

 

Once they had arrived at the village, Revali and Teba landed on the landing, then turned around to see Meelo and Tulin close behind.

When Meelo landed, the young boy hopped off his back, smiles spread out on both of their beaks.

“Alright, Meelo,” Teba began. “I need to go back and help the Elder and the others sort through all those documents. You take Revali to see Veremi.”

The young warrior’s crest flattened so much against his head that it went down to his neck. “Wh-What? Can’t you come, too?” Meelo whimpered.

Teba rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. You’ll be fine without me.”

“But, I-”

“You’ll be fine,” the white Rito cut off.

Meelo shifted into place awkwardly and fumbled with his hands, his crest still completely flat.

“And you,” Teba said, directing his eyes to his son. “You have to go back to your mother.”

“What?! But I don’t wanna!” Tulin whined as he threw his head back.

“No, ‘but’s,” his father said flatly. “Your mother will have my hide if she finds out that I took you to the Flight Range as it is without you missing your dinner."

Tulin grumbled something underneath his breath until he angrily grumbled, “Okay.” He stumbled forward to hug his father, only able to hug his leg because of his short height. “I love you, dad.”

Teba smiled and crouched down to hug his son close. “I love you too, Tulin.”

Tulin broke away and smiled up at Teba. “Promise that we'll hang out tomorrow?”

“Yes, I promise,” The older Rito said, smiling meekly and nodding.

Tulin's beam brightened and he stepped back to turn away. “I'll see you later, dad! Bye, Meelo! Bye, Champion Revali!” He chirped as he waved and ran away, his right leg limping behind him.

Both Meelo and Revali waved and said goodbye with a chuckle, but Teba slowly stood back up and lowly said, “See you later, sport,” too quiet for Tulin to hear. He watched him go with a pained, faraway look in his eye before turning to the other two.

“Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow, Master Revali. Bye, Meelo,” Teba said, nodding respectfully at Revali before he turned around and walked away.

They said goodbye as he left, then Meelo took in a deep breath as his crest bobbed back up.

“Okay, Veremi’s hut is this way,” he weakly said and then walked in the opposite direction that Teba went.

Revali followed, walking beside him. He looked up at him with a brow raised and asked, “You don’t seem to be so keen on the idea of going to see them. Should I be worried?”

Meelo shook his head, his braids knocking back and forth. “No. I just-” He fumbled with his hands and took another deep breath. “Veremi doesn’t like me very much…”

“And why is that? Is it because they think of you as a…” Revali couldn’t finish his sentence. The thought of that slur coming out of his own mouth felt heinous.

“Oh, no. No, that’s not why. It’s because I...I annoy them...I think,” Meelo mumbled. “I kind of get in their way a lot.”

Revali opened his beak to say something when Meelo suddenly halted to a stop right in front of a hut decorated with windmills and teal and pink tapestries.

Taking yet another deep breath, Meelo walked towards the doorway and mumbled, “This way.”

Walking right behind him towards the hut, Revali peered around him to see two black and brown Rito with white hair that looked about his age sitting inside. One of them was whittling a piece of wood and the other was simply sitting next to them and talking. It wasn’t hard for Revali to guess which one Veremi was.

Stepping in through the doorway, Meelo very quietly stammered, “H-Hi, Veremi,” and then proceeded to accidentally knock into the weapon display next to the doorway. The spears in it rattled and a couple clattered onto the ground, alerting the craftsman of Meelo’s presence.

“Meelo!” They squawked as they stood up and dropped their things to stomp over towards Meelo. “For the love of- Could you _please_ be careful for once in your-” However, they stopped when they caught a glimpse of the Champion behind him. Their feathers ruffled and then they gave him a slow nod, almost like a little bow. “Oh, Champion Revali. I’m so sorry- I didn’t see you there.”

Hearing that name, the other Rito inside stood straight up to fully bow, her feathers also ruffled.

“Hello.” Revali stepped around Meelo and smiled at the both of them, waving a hand at the Rito who bowed at him. “There’s no need to be so formal. It’s alright.”

Veremi’s feathers settled and they lifted their head up to look back at Revali. They hummed and said, “I’m Veremi and this is my twin sister Korena,” then motioned to the other Rito behind them.

Korena’s feathers were still very much ruffled and she played with the edges of her wings as she nodded at the Champion, unable to say anything from the shock of having Revali right in front of her.

Revali nodded back to her. “It’s nice to meet the both of you.”

“Are you here about the Great Eagle Bow?” Veremi asked.

“Indeed I am.”

Their beak curled into a wide grin. “Great! Come inside and I’ll get a cushion for you.” They started to turn back inside when they saw Meelo, still frantically trying to put the spears back into their place. “You’re free to go now, Meelo,” they said flatly, squinting.

Meelo jumped, accidentally letting go of one of the spears, which fell back down onto the ground. “Ah, b-but I…”

“It’s alright. He can stay if he wants to,” Revali said as he put his hand up. “I don’t mind if he stays.”

Still squinting with their eyes on Meelo, Veremi said, “Well, okay. As long as he doesn’t touch anything.” Then they finished turning around to go grab two cushions from the side of the hut.

Revali stepped further in, looking around the hut and admiring all the different kinds of weapons on display everywhere. Not only were there bows and spears inside, but also all kinds of swords, halberds, scimitars, and other weapons that Revali didn’t know the name of hung on the walls or sat in displays.

“When I found out that that chest held all kinds of old blueprints and documents about Rito weapon-crafting,” Veremi began after they retrieved the cushions and set them down on the ground for Revali and Meelo. “I was so excited. But then when I found out that the _Great Eagle Bow blueprint_ was in there…” They shook their head with a smile of disbelief on their face.

“They went a little crazy,” Korena said softly, sitting back down on her seat.

The craftsman laughed. “Yeah, I did go a little crazy. The thought of crafting that legendary bow- Well, it sounded like a dream come true. And being able to make it for you, Revali...I swear this is a gift to me from Hylia herself.” Veremi chuckled, a delighted grin cracking open their beak.

“Well, I’m happy to be of service then,” Revali said as he sat down on one of the cushions that Veremi set down.

Meelo sat down beside him, awkwardly crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees to nervously play with his fingers again.

“But, anyway, I’ll just cut to the chase. I wouldn’t want to keep you any longer than I have to,” Veremi said as they went to retrieve a rolled up blueprint that leaned against one of the many weapon displays.

After they sat down, they rolled it open, revealing a very detailed diagram of the Great Eagle Bow. It was on a large piece of paper just barely big enough to hold all the little notes and in-depth sketches that the original designer jotted down about each and every section of the bow.

Revali stared down at it eagerly and Meelo beside him peered at it with eyes bright with curiosity.

“The original craftsman gave very thorough instructions on how he made the bow, so I pretty much know exactly how I’m going to go about making this,” Veremi explained and flipped their bangs out of their face before pointing to one of the corners of the page. “I’ll spare you the details, though I will say that I don’t have all the materials I need yet, so I can’t start right away.” Their beak contorted into a scowl aimed down at the paper as they scratched at the back of their head in exasperation. “I haven’t been able to find anyone in the area that sells iron a high enough grade for me to use for this. Everything they’re selling is just too low. At this point, I think I’ll just mine it _myself._ I know where a batch of iron ore is, so tomorrow, I’ll-”

“No,” Revali suddenly interrupted. “I’ll go mine it.”

Slowly, Veremi raised their head to look up at him. “What? Sir, are you sure? I really have no problem with it.”  
“No, I…” Revali faltered, starting to look back on the days when the Great Eagle Bow had first been crafted.

 

He distinctly remembered back when he was eighteen, still training under Kezul, his mentor.

“A true archer's bow is an extension of their body,” Kezul had told him more than once, looking down at him with those sharp, red eyes that held a dark heaviness to them. “It’s a part of them. And that’s why you need to give it the respect and commitment it deserves because it is just as much a part of you as your wing or your leg.”

Kezul really believed in this philosophy, to the point that when the village’s craftsman began to design and create the Great Eagle Bow, he insisted that Revali put in just as much blood, sweat, and tears as him. He made him gather and make all the materials needed himself, no matter how grueling the task was, as well as be apart of the process. And whenever Revali would whine and complain, Kezul looked at him with a knowing glance and told him that it would further his connection to his bow, thus making him an even better archer.

And he had been right.

After he succeeded in gathering the materials and added in its creation, he really had a better connection to the Great Eagle Bow than to any other weapon he had used in his life. Truly, using it he felt like it was just another part of his body, and he was able to control it and his arrows just as easy as he could walk.

He and his bow had been in tune with each other, and that had been one of the best feelings he had ever felt in the world.

So, he knew for a fact, that without giving something up for it and without putting in his own effort, it would just be another simple bow made for him; nothing more.

It would be nothing like how the Great Eagle Bow had been before.

More importantly, it felt like if he had just sat back and watched someone do all the work for him and make the bow from the top, it would be like spitting in old Kezul’s face.

 

“I insist,” he finally finished, his voice still low and quiet. Then he took in a deep breath and continued. “Over a hundred years ago, I gathered all the materials for the craftsman back then to use for the first Great Eagle Bow's creation and even helped with the crafting. It won't be the same if I don't get all the materials myself again."

Surprised, Veremi stammered, “Oh. Sure, that makes sense,” and then turned their attention back to the blueprint and pointed back at the corner with the material notes. “If that's the case, then you're going to have to get some wood, obviously. But it has to be wood that can easily bend.” Veremi paused for a moment to think. “The big oak tree by the stables should work. It says here that flax cordage was used for the string. If you get the flax we need, I can make the cordage out of the fibers for you, but if you want to make it yourself, then you definitely can.” Again, they looked at Revali and shrugged. “That's really it, really."

“Great.” Revali nodded, giving Veremi a little smile. “I’ll start gathering everything tomorrow. Could you tell me where I can find the ore? And the flax, too.”

The craftsman beamed. “Of course.”

 

~~~

 

After Veremi explained their course of action and where all the materials they needed were, Revali thanked them and then left their and their twin's hut with Meelo.

Once they were out of the hut, Meelo let out a relieved sigh, obviously very glad to be out of there, and then asked if he could accompany Revali to the largest landing before he went back to the Flight Range.

He agreed, and so they began walking together across the bridges and staircases.  
While they were walking across a bridge, the young warrior spoke up. “H-Hey, Revali?”

“Yes?”

“I wanted to ask you something. And it’s...it’s okay if you, uh, say no b-but…” Meelo trailed off, pulling on one of his braids anxiously. “But...”

Revali lightly scoffed. “Well, go on. You don’t know if I’ll say no if you don’t ask.”

The young warrior started to tug at his braid harder and nervously hummed before he finally twittered, “I wanted to ask if I could come with you! When you...When you g-get the metal, and the wood and stuff...I understand if you say no, since it sounded so i-important to you, but I figured I would just-”

“It’s alright,” Revali stopped him. “You’re not in trouble for asking.”

“Sorry,” Meelo muttered quietly and then shifted his eyes away to avoid Revali’s.

While his first reaction was to say no, the Champion started to reconsider after looking back at Meelo and studying him.

Sure, Meelo was a scrawny wimp who was scared of his own shadow. But still, when Revali looked at him, he saw a certain untapped potential, as if he could be so much more than he was letting himself be. Maybe that’s what it was that made Revali take a liking to him when he decided to start to train him alongside Teba.

Plus, there was the fact that Meelo went through the same treatment in childhood that Revali did, so there was solidarity there that he didn’t get from anyone else, save for Meezuli.

So, against his better judgment, he agreed.

“You know what?” He replied. “Why not? Maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two. That is, as long as Teba will let you.”

Meelo immediately let go of his braid and his eyes started to shimmer with an innocent euphoria. “R-Really? You mean it?”

Revali laughed. “You’re really excited for just tagging along for some mining and gathering!”

The younger avian cringed and then rubbed at his arm. “I-I mean...being your student means the absolute world to me, but...g-getting some personal time with you, even if it’s that, is…” He shrugged, the corners of his beak crinkling into a small smile.

“Exhilarating?”

The crest on Meelo’s head perked up as he giggled. “I guess so. Though, that’s a little bit, um....embarrassing.”

“No need to be embarrassed,” Revali said with a low chuckle. “I seem to have that effect on everyone.”

The yellow avian tittered warmly for a good moment before he started to say, “U-Um...T-To tell you the truth, Revali, I-”

“Master Revali.”

Meelo was suddenly interrupted by the other being called out to by a familiar voice, and so the two of them turned around to see Teba quickly walking up the steps to the two of them.

“Teba? Weren’t you-” Revali began to ask as he walked down the steps to meet the older Rito, Meelo trailing behind him.

“Yeah, ” Teba cut him off, answering his question before he could ask it.

That’s when Revali noticed that Teba was holding a couple of folded up pieces of paper in his hand, weathered from old age.

“But I found something that you’ll probably want to see,” Teba continued and then held out the papers to Revali, who didn’t hesitate to take them out of his hands.

Inquisitively, Revali looked down at the papers, noticing that it wasn’t some sort of formal document.

It was a letter.

“It’s about your parents.”

  
  
  


S I D O N

 

_Deep in my dark and down in my cold_

_WIth nothing to feel and nothing to hold_

_If you hold me here, I'll just disappear_

_Won't I? Won't I?_

  


Sidon hated this.

He was supposed to be happy.

He was supposed to be overjoyed and overcome with glee that Link returned to him so that they could spend almost every waking hour again with each other.

But he wasn’t.

He felt awful.

He felt sick.

He hated this.

Hell, the two of them had _never_ spent this much time apart while being in the same place at the same time. It was like the both of them had been instinctively avoiding the other, both fully aware that something they didn’t want to acknowledge was in the air between them.

Something was bothering Link, and it made him short and grumpy. After being inseparable with him for several months, Sidon knew better than to weasel himself into his presence, even if it meant missing him and being lonely.

What had even happened?

He had no idea, and the distraughting mystery of it all possessed him to where he didn’t feel like himself anymore. When one of his subjects greeted him, he couldn’t even smile as he said hello. It just seemed impossible to.

He hated this.

 

~~~

 

Sidon was walking down the hallway on his way to get something from his room when something stopped him. He was passing by the room that Zelda was using as her study to hear familiar voices coming from inside, escaping from the door that was left slightly ajar.

“We never really got the chance to ask you about how your trip went,” his sister’s voice said from inside the study.

“That’s right. We’ve all been a bit too busy to talk since you returned yesterday evening,” Zelda agreed. There was a pause before she added, “Were you and Revali able to get along?”

That made the prince stop in his tracks and he was tempted to listen in on the conversation, hoping to hear some kind of hint of what it was that was going on with Link. For a second, he felt immeasurably guilty for eavesdropping on a conversation he was not a part of, but the guilt quickly subsided when he reminded himself that if there was a reason Link wouldn’t talk to him, there was a chance he would open up to the girls.

With a gulp and a short breath, Sidon leaned against the wall next to the door to listen in.

Link let out a sigh that was surprisingly whimsical rather than hard and rough. “It was…” He went quiet as if he was thinking and then finished his thought. “...fine. Revali wasn’t as bad as before.”

Zelda said quietly, as if it was more to herself, “Good. I was worried. I’m glad he’s better.”

“I actually enjoyed my time with him,” Link avowed, his voice in a strangely happy tone.

If he enjoyed his time so much, then why was he being especially cold and distant now? That made absolutely no sense.

Sidon found himself shuffling closer to the door, just enough so he could peek inside.

From where he was, he could only see Zelda sitting beside Mipha at a window seat, facing the other side of the room where Link must have been. The both of them had soft smiles on their faces as the two of them exchanged knowing glances.

Now, what was it that _they_ were thinking?

“I’m so happy that you guys are becoming friends again,” Mipha started, her tiny smile widening. “Especially since you two had been so close-”

Link cut her off quickly, as if what he was saying was of great urgency. “Everyone has been saying that, but when I asked Revali, he said we were barely even friends and were more like rivals if anything. Is that even true?”

Zelda looked down at her lap, biting her lip. Then her eyes flicked back up for her to say, “At first you two did certainly have a rivalry, though it was definitely one-sided. You wanted to be Revali’s friend, but he resisted for a long time.” She softly laughed, recounting the old days. “Eventually he gave in and you two became very close, very quickly.”

Beside her, Mipha’s smile turned into a sad one. “Extremely close. You two were inseparable, right until the end.” Her mouth began to twist as if she had more to say, but she restrained herself into staying quiet, as painful as it looked for her.

Gods, what was it?! What was it that Sidon didn’t know?!

“Did you know that you had been selectively mute before the Calamity?” Zelda asked, breaking the heavy silence that was weighing down on Sidon.

“Yeah, Revali told me,” Link answered.

Was that true? Sidon hadn’t known that. He only remembered thinking that Link was just a very quiet person when he was a child. He had no idea he was actually _mute._

He guessed there was a lot he didn’t know about Link.

That scared him.

“Mipha and I already knew sign language, so we were able to communicate with you,” Zelda said. “But Revali, he insisted on learning sign so that he could understand you, too. He made Mipha and I teach him and he studied very hard so he could become a master of it quickly and talk with you.”

Mipha nodded with a distant look in her eyes. “It was very important to him. That’s how much you meant to him then.”

The room went silent again before Link lightly said, “Oh.”

Zelda’s mouth curled into a sort of grin as she spoke up again. “I remember that you wanted to get better at talking too, because of him as well. It was Revali that made your anxieties so much easier to bear to the point where you wanted to learn how to talk again.”

Something about that made Sidon feel very uneasy. It felt as if something was tearing into him in a way he didn’t understand.

Link replied in a wavering, breathy voice. “I did?”

“Yes, you did. There was even one night where you came in to ask me to help you practice speaking,” the Hylian princess continued.

“I...I…” Link weakly uttered.

Sidon tried to move his head to see if he could catch a glimpse of Link from the crack in the door, but he couldn’t.

Zelda laughed to herself again, her eyes falling back down to her lap. When her laugh broke so she could go on, she spoke lower and more hesitantly, as if she was saying something she knew she shouldn’t. “The word you wanted to learn how to say the most was Revali’s name-”

Suddenly there was a crash that sounded like someone just collapsed onto the floor. Both of the girls’ eyes became huge as they dove forward towards Link, who had made no noise aside from falling onto the ground out of Sidon’s view.

“Link, Link, oh my goddess, are you alright?!” Zelda worriedly cried out.

Sidon was ready to burst in to help his fiancé when he stopped himself.

He wanted to help Link, he really did, but he immediately thought of all the times that Link would snap at him like a rabid dog whenever he tried to help.

Sidon didn’t think he would be able to bear that dark look in his eyes when they shot up to fiercely glare at him or that fire that spit from his mouth. He hated that more than anything.

So, he remained still. Listening.

After a few moments of worried coos coming from the two girls, there was a grumble that was unmistakably Link’s as he, assumably, was getting a hold of himself after whatever had happened.

“Link, are you okay?” Mipha said softly.

“I’m fine...I’m fine.”

“What happened?” Zelda questioned, her voice thick with concern. “It was almost like you fainted, but your eyes were wide open.”

Link let out a grunt as if he was getting up. “This has happened a couple of times. I’ve been getting more memories back, but not like before. It’s more violent and it’s like my whole body shuts down whenever something triggers a memory...”

He was getting more of his memories back?! Why didn’t he tell Sidon? Why did that have to be kept a secret from him?!

Sidon would have been happy for him if he wasn’t so hurt that Link was keeping it from him.

What else was there that he didn’t know?

“Was it…” Zelda began to ask, though she didn’t need to finish her question.

“Yeah,” Link answered. “It was of that time you mentioned. I really _did_ want to learn how to speak again for Revali. I remembered being so passionate about it and wanting it more than anything, because I…” He faltered, unable to finish the rest of his sentence.

Then there was a stillness in the room that Sidon couldn’t even begin to comprehend. The three of them didn’t even have to use any words to understand what he meant or say anything about it, leaving the prince in the dark.

That stillness made Sidon’s own heart stay still, waiting for...something.

But he was given nothing, as Mipha interjected it by saying, “You look pale. Would you want me to go fetch you some water?”

“That would be great, thanks,” Link said.

Sidon jumped when he heard Mipha’s footsteps approaching, then quickly walked down the hall so that it wasn’t obvious he was just there, listening in on them.

Behind him, the study door creaked open and his sister stepped out, off to retrieve Link a glass of water. But then she must have caught sight of Sidon because she called out to him and her small footsteps echoed in the hallway.

“Sidy! I haven’t seen you all day. How are you?” She said after she caught up to him and laid a gentle hand on his arm.

He tried to lift the corners of his lips into a smile but found himself unable to do so. “I’ve been doing fine. I’ve just been trying to get through some paperwork and I left something in my room.”

He couldn’t hide anything from his sister. Her bright, glowing eyes looked up and studied him intently, knowing that there was clearly something wrong.

She opened her mouth to say something when a servant walked past, so she closed it and turned her attention to the passing Zora, who immediately bowed when she saw who it was speaking to her. “Excuse me, but could you please fetch some water for…” She paused for a beat and peered up at Sidon beside her so quickly that he almost didn’t notice. “...Zelda. She’s in her study.”

The servant, still bowing, uttered, “Of course, Your Highness. Right away,” before making her way down the hallway while the two royal siblings stayed still; Mipha’s hand still on his arm and Sidon’s whole body still tense.

“Sidy, I know that there’s something wrong. Wouldn’t you want to talk about it?”

Sidon’s jaw clenched. The nickname that had brought him great comfort in the past felt patronizing now.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he muttered and pulled his arm away. “I promise you. Everything is fine. I’m fine.”

Mipha sighed and looked away with the tiniest of smiles on her face. “Even after all these years, you haven’t changed at all,” She whispered to herself. “Time can’t change everything, I suppose.”

Those words stung, even though she didn’t mean for them to at all.

She still thought of him as a child. As a small, ignorant child, even though he had grown up so much since she was away.

Why couldn’t she just…

“I’m sorry, but I have a deadline to meet today,” Sidon bitterly said and walked away from her. “We can talk at dinner tonight.”

He had expected Mipha to stop him; to grab him and force him to tell her exactly what it was that was upsetting him so terribly.

Thankfully she didn’t, however. She only watched him leave in silence. Whether it was because she gave up or because she didn’t know what to do, he wasn’t sure.

So, he left his sister alone by herself in the middle of the corridor, with only the echoes of his footsteps accompanying her.

  
  
  


L I N K

  


_I just want to close my eyes in the scent of summer_  
_I want to feel the wind always_  
_Is it selfish to just want to look at the blue sky?_  
_Is it selfish if I just want to know you?_

  
  


That evening, Link was totally checked out.

He picked at his food during dinner as he thought about the memory he had regained earlier that day, knocking around the vegetables on his plate with his fork in silence.

Just as these memories had done before, it refused to leave him alone. Whenever there was a still moment, it would force itself back into his mind and make him recount it over and over again; reminding him of everything he had thought and felt so long ago.

 

~~~

 

Link recalled that on a very crisp evening, a very long time ago, he had crossed the small bridge to Zelda’s study and knocked on the side of the doorway, feeling a bit nervous.

The princess had sitting at her desk and tinkering with some parts of an old Sheikah machine when he knocked.  She turned around her seat to see him there in the doorway, then smiled and motioned for him to come in.

Link obeyed and walked in while Zelda put her tools back onto the desk, freeing her hands to sign to him.

At first, Link, while remembering this, was confused as to why she didn’t just talk to him with her voice, considering he would understand her anyway. That is, until something in the back of his head reminded him of the way things had been back then.

After the two of them had gotten close and Zelda started to learn sign language so that they could communicate better, she had found out that in Hyrule’s deaf and nonverbal community, it was considered rude for one to speak to a nonverbal person when they already knew sign language. So, despite Link’s protest, she insisted that whenever the two of them were alone, she would sign to him, respecting the culture and following the proper etiquette.

Everyone else had either not known or not cared, always talking to him with their voice, something he didn't have, while he was forced to answer with body language or signs if he was lucky. He told himself that he didn't mind and that it was unavoidable, but he didn't realize how much it actually hurt him until Zelda started to sign with him.

There had apparently been some kind of relief in those moments where he could sign with someone else, never having to feel guilty about being nonverbal. So, he appreciated the sentiment immensely.

It was also odd that Link did not remember any sign language at all, yet, looking back at this moment, he knew exactly what they were saying with their hands and facial cues.

 _“It’s getting late,”_ Zelda signed, smiling. _“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”_

Link stifled a short laugh. _“I could say the same for you.”_

The princess shrugged. _“I kept discovering more and more interesting things about these machines, so I found myself tinkering around for hours when I only meant to pick around for a short while.”_ She raised her eyebrows at him, as typical of someone asking a question in sign language. _“So, what brought you up here?”_

Link looked off to the side and rubbed at his arm, feeling Zelda’s eyes burn into him. He rose his hands back up to sign, though he kept his eyes focused on the ground. _“Do you think...you can help me talk again?”_

Zelda’s eyes grew wide and her eyebrows rose again but from surprise this time. She stayed still for a long second before she signed, _“You...you want to learn how to speak again?”_

He peeked at her from the corner of his eyes and then nodded.

The girls’ awed look morphed into one of excitement that she could hardly hold back. _“That’s amazing! Yes, I would be delighted to help you with that!”_ Curiously, she rose a brow. _“Though, might I ask why you suddenly decided you wanted to do this?”_

Link said nothing and felt his cheeks begin to flush.

Zelda's innocent beam turned into a smirk as she continued to stare at him, waiting for his answer.

Absolutely flustered, Link quickly and messily signed, _“I just think it would be easier on everyone if I knew how to talk at least a little bit! That's all!”_

She squinted at him, her lips still curled into a snide smile. Then she sighed, her grin fading away. _“How long as it been since you've said anything? I know that you've been mute ever since-”_

Link cut her off, signing big and expressively; if he had been talking, he would have been raising his voice over hers. _“Almost nine years. But before that, I barely spoke for a year.”_  

 _“Wow. So ever since you were ten…”_ She trailed off, then looked away distantly for a moment, thinking. Swinging her head back at him, she said, _“It'll almost be like starting over again.”_

Link, unphased by this fact, nodded. _“Yes.”_

_“Would you want to start now, or tomo-”_

_“Yes.”_

Zelda's smile returned as she turned back to her workspace. She looked around the desk at all her trinkets and things, thinking of what would be best for Link to try and say first. While she did that, Link came and sat down on a chair next to her.

Her eyes fell on a plate on the desk that had a few pieces of an apple on it. She turned back towards Link and then signed, _“Alright, then. Focus on the way I say 'apple’. Look at the shape of my mouth when I say it.”_

She very clearly said “Apple” out loud, accentuating every single thing her mouth did so Link could easily read it and copy her. “Apple.”

Link took a deep breath in through his nose and opened his mouth to try.

“E-Eh...Aohh…”

“Ah,” Zelda said the first syllable clearly again for him.

After not speaking for so long, it was hard to make the right shapes with his mouth to create the right sound. It was frustratingly difficult for him just to utter a simple "ah" sound, even with Zelda's guidance.

Not to mention that it felt bizarre having something come from his own mouth that wasn't a grunt or shout or anything of the like. His voice was scratchy and hoarse from disuse, to the point where it sounded almost horrific.

But he had to figure this out. He needed to talk.

He had been desperate for some reason.

“A-A...Ah…” Link finally was able to replicate it after really concentrating, though it was warbled and a bit off.

“Good,” Zelda said with a proud smile. “Now try 'puhl’.”

After several tries, he was able to sort of say it. “P-Poohl.”

 _“_ Now, say it together. Apple.”

“A-A...pple.”

Zelda clapped her hands, her face bright with glee. _“Good! You’re getting better at it faster than I thought you would.”_ She lifted a hand to put on her chest. “Now try to say my name. Zelda.” Again, she spoke very clearly while saying her name so he could emulate it.

Straining, he stammered with an uneven, raspy voice. “Z-Zuh...Zeh...Z-Zelda…”

“Wonderful. Now try yours. Link.”

“Li...Lin...Link.” After he was able to say his own name almost perfectly, he cracked a wide, triumphant smile.

 _“Is there anything else you would like to learn how to say in particular?_ ” Zelda asked, signing again, leaning toward him in her seat with the same happy smile.

Link started to fumble around with his hands while he felt his cheeks begin to turn red and his heart start to beat faster against his chest.

She leaned further forward, raising her brows, but said nothing.

With a shaky breath, he lifted a hand to spell, _“Revali.”_

Zelda’s green eyes went wide as she brought her hands to her mouth.

Link stared down at his lap, going back to fidgeting with his hands.

“I knew it…” The princess breathed out from behind her hands, unable to sign and throwing the culture she tried to respectfully follow out the window. “You like Revali…”

His face shot back up at her and he quickly signed, _“What?! No, I don’t!”_

She pointed at him accusingly as her voice rose into a high-pitched squeal. “Goddess, yes, you do! You wanted to learn how to say his name!”

Link closed his eyes tightly, vigorously shook his head and messily signed, _“We were saying names! It was the first thing I thought of! Don’t just assume that I-”_

Zelda reached out to pinch his cheeks, making him shoot his eyes back open to see an ugly grin on her face. “You’re blushing.”

 _“I’m not blushing!”_ Link swatted her hand away, his face and ears burning.

Laughing, Zelda leaned back into her chair. “I’m sorry for embarrassing you. But really, it’s alright. You don’t have to get so flustered. It would make sense to learn how to say his name anyway.”

Link nervously tucked the loose strands of hair behind his ears while nodding. After a quiet moment, he slowly signed, _“Thank you.”_

“You’re welcome.” Her lips curled back upward into a small smile. “Let’s start then. Re.”

“Rrrreh-eh...Re…” Link’s voice was shakier than before, now trying to sound out Revali’s name. He squirmed in his seat and fumbled with his hands again.

“Va.”

“F-Fah. V-V...Va...” Link squeezed his fingers, desperately trying his absolute best to focus on making the right sound with his raspy, ugly voice.

“Li.”

“L...Li.”

“Revali.”

“R-Re..vah..lee…”

After not speaking for a decade, feeling Revali’s name come off his lips felt especially intoxicating. It made his heart patter against his chest, his head swim, and his cheek flush again.

Being able to say his name...made him feel closer to Revali somehow. It felt very intimate in a way.

“Revali…” Link said clearer as his palms grew sweaty and his heart beat so painfully fast that he could feel it in his throat. “Re...vali.”

Zelda gave him a soft, warm smile. “You picked that up very easily. You must have really wanted to say his name.”

 _“Yeah. I...I don’t know. I just want to be able to talk to him, I guess,”_ Link admitted, his beating heart beginning to settle. _“Being mute hasn’t bothered me that much, so it was okay before, but…”_

“I understand. You want to connect with him,” she said matter-of-factly without batting an eye.

That made him really flustered. He quickly shrugged and briskly nodded.

That...that had to have been the truth. That must have.

 _“I knew that you were interested in him, but I cannot for the life of me understand why you would ever be interested in the likes of him. He’s rude and belligerent beyond compare.”_ Zelda, thankfully, went back to signing, which put Link at ease. She also had leaned back into her chair, no longer intruding in on his personal space.

Link shook his head. _“No, he’s none of those things. Not really.”_

Zelda stared at him and squinted, puzzled.

Looking off into space, Link signed, _“I’ve...I’ve seen what he’s really like. He’s kind. And sweet. And, honestly, I think that his ambition is kind of charming. And not to mention, he’s-”_ He stopped himself when he caught Zelda giving him an impish smirk and shifted in his seat awkwardly. _“Anyway...that’s what he’s really like. Everything else is just an act.”_

Zelda let out a soft laugh. _“You’re adorable.”_

Link jumped and blinked wildly.

Drawing out each sign slowly, Zelda said, _“You’re obviously in love with him.”_

The knight’s eyes went wide and his entire body flushed. He whipped his head back and forth, tossing around his hair. _“No! No, I’m not! Don’t just say that!”_

_“There’s no use denying it! You clearly are!”_

_“No! No!”_

“Yes, yes, yes!” Zelda laughed, using her voice so her hands were free to pinch Link’s cheeks again.

Feverishly shaking his head, Link loudly hummed, _“Mm-mm! Mm-mm!”_ over and over again in protest, but the princess kept her hold on his cheeks, no matter how hard he tried to squirm away.

She laughed again, screeching, “Just admit it! Just admit that you-” But then suddenly her eyes flicked away from him when she heard a footstep coming from outside. Swiftly, she dropped her hands and turned towards the doorway of her study. “Oh! Revali! Good evening!” She tried to say in a friendly manner, but her alarm of the Rito showing up then of all times shone through.

Hearing his name, Link’s heart leapt into his throat and his stomach sank. He swung his head over to see the visitor walking in through the doorway.

And there was Revali, walking in and glancing at him with his bright, green eyes.

Those emerald eyes sent a shock wave through Link.

“Good evening. Sorry to intrude on whatever _this_ is,” Revali spat while looking at Zelda and tossed his head to look down at Link, knocking his braids around. _“You...stupid…”_ He slowly signed. _“...Idiot.”_

This must have been during the time that Revali was learning how to do sign, and from the way he clearly struggled, he probably had still been very new to the language. Every simple motion was done with ultimate care and concentration; each sign was done slowly and carefully so he could be as accurate as possible.

 _“You...forgot…”_ Revali faltered, staring at Link as he tried to remember the sign of the next word.

After an awkward moment, he angrily scoffed, gave up, and took the sheath he had hung on his shoulder off to reveal the Master Sword. He used his free hand to point at it, exasperated.

“Sword,” Zelda said, calling Revali’s attention over to her as she made the made the sign for ‘sword’; a serpentine swinging motion with one hand.

Revali, his beak scrunched into a frown, mimicked her movements before looking back over at Link to continue angrily signing to him. _“...Sword...on...table.”_ He finished and then tossed the sword at Link without warning.

Link just barely was able to catch it before it clattered to the ground below him. Once it was in his hands, he held it close to him.

_“Important. Don’t leave. Wrong what you-”_

Link waved his hands, telling Revali to stop. _“Talk. It’s fine,”_ he signed, only using simple signs so that Revali could easily understand him. His whole face lifted up into a smile as he slowly moved his hands. _“I don’t mind.”_

The Rito stared at him, deciding whether or not to keep trying to sign and make a fool of himself or to give up.

He chose to do the latter and furrowed his brows at Link. “This is literally the Master Sword. A sword that has been passed down for Hylia knows how long for the use of defeating the _basically immortal_ being of _pure evil and malice_ that threatens us now. Without that, we are all dead. So how about you _not_ leave it on the gods damn dining table at dinnertime, you airheaded dunce?!”

Even though he was mercilessly being ridiculed, Link hadn’t cared at all. Revali’s violent, incessant squawking was just like water off a duck’s back. His goofy smile was still plastered on his face unapologetically.

Link was a very different person back then.

 _“You’re right. Stupid. I’m sorry,”_ Link signed thoughtfully. _“Thank you.”_

Revali jerked at the ‘thank you’ and then clicked his beak. “You’re welcome. I guess.” Taking a step back towards the doorway, he continued, “That was all. Again, I’m sorry for disrupting you. Good night.”

And without another word, he turned around on his heels and left the study, walking to the bridge to beat his wings and fly off.

Link and Zelda immediately locked eyes with one another until Zelda burst out laughing.

Hiding his face in his hands, Link made a low, guttural sound to express his utter embarrassment.

Zelda, however, was unable to stop laughing, doubling over herself and laying a hand on his knee as she laughed so hard she snorted.

That made Link start to laugh too, and soon they were both howling and leaning into each other as they fell apart at the seams.

“Wow, he really is such an absolute sweetheart! You have such good taste, Link!” Zelda managed to say through guffaws.

 _“Shut up!”_ Link shakily signed as he roared, his stomach beginning to ache from laughing with who might have been his best friend once upon a time.

 

~~~

 

Thinking back on that, Link couldn’t help but smile to himself.

After getting more of these personal memories back, he couldn’t shake the feeling that things had actually been much better back then.

He had been happy. Really, truly happy.

Not...whatever he was now.

And while the idea of him having had feelings for Revali scared and worried him, there was a certain innocence and sweetness to it that he, regrettably, almost _enjoyed_ looking back on.

But things were different now. Revali was out of the picture and he was happy with Sidon.

He had to remember that.

He looked across the table where Zelda was sitting, diligently eating off of her dinner plate, when she glanced up to see Link looking at her.

Totally in sync, the corners of both their lips curled up into soft, warm smiles. It was as if the both of them knew that they had been thinking about the exact same thing, and after that exchange, they simply went back to their food and continued to eat.

And that felt right.

It felt right and nostalgic to be so friendly with Zelda again, even if he barely remembered anything.

It felt right and nostalgic to feel close with her again.

But then, a random thought occurred to Link as he stabbed his fork into a small piece of broccoli.

  
  
_What was it that happened that made me mute anyway?_

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case u skipped the beginning notes, I wrote a [oneshot with Teba and Meelo...lol...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17060663)


	13. Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali reads the letter and finds out why his parents abandoned him.  
> Revali confides into Meelo.  
> Link remembers something from the very distant past.  
> Sidon and Link have an explosive argument that could change everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOAH i got this out earlier than usual !! haha!!! it actually woulda come out several days ago if I wasn't so ...um..lame.  
> anyway, this update is pretty rough so ...ew. also it's a bit shorter than usual,, haaaahaha  
> we in the teens now, lads... can't believe i kept this going for so long  
> sorry that revali's part is so...angst and meelo focused...and that i droned on and on about NOTHING aHA _/dabs so hard my elbows snap_ . but then i guess it has some stuff that's worth knowing for the folks who didn't read TC  
>  also flax. i wrote so much about flax. why the fuck did i write so much about flax? what the fuck is wrong with me?
> 
> Lyrics are from Sing Me to Sleep by Alan Walker, Breathe Me by Sia, Last of Me by Circus-P, and Masquerade by Groundfold
> 
>  **TW FOR CHILD ABUSE!** pls b safe

 

 

R E V A L I

 

_Anywhere, anytime_

_I would do anything for you_

_Anything for you_

_Yesterday got away_

_Melodies stuck inside your head_

_A song in every breath_

 

“What?”

Revali blankly stared up at Teba with massive eyes, his grip on the paper in his hands loosening so much that he almost dropped it.

“It’s a letter from your parents to the Elder from back then,” Teba explained, his brows furrowed in seriousness. “I read just enough of it to know what it was and decided to bring it right to you. I didn’t read any more, though.”

Revali looked back down at the letter he was holding, his eyes still large. “...Thank you, Teba.”

“You’re welcome,” Teba said and nodded. “Now, I have to go back so I’ll see you later.” And with that, the older Rito turned and went back to where he came from, nonchalantly dropping a bomb on Revali.

The Champion said nothing as Teba left, all of his attention on the letter in his hands, which began to tremble.

All throughout his childhood, he so desperately wanted to solve the mystery of where he came from, who his parents were and what happened to them. He would dream about all the possibilities and sometimes fear the worst.

And that question had continued to haunt him; even now, after everything, it remained in the back of his mind. It was something that never went away. It was an enigma that followed him everywhere.

But the answers that he longed for were in his hands now...after so long.

And he couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t open it.

He was ripped from his trance when Meelo, who was still beside him, gently laid a hand on his wing.

“Revali...Are you okay?”

Revali took in a deep breath and nodded his head. “Yes, I’m fine. This is just almost too much to take in. Ever since I was small, I wondered…” He trailed off and his beak crinkled into an awkward flat line.

Meelo stepped around him so that they were facing each other and that Revali would take his eyes off the paper and look up at him instead. “You don’t have to read it right now. You can save it for later when you’re ready.”

Tossing his braids around, Revali shook his head. “No, no. If I put it down, I might never pick it up again. I have to read this now. I have to.”

Meelo studied him for a moment with his gray eyes, then stepped to the side so that he wasn’t in the middle of the path anymore. “Ah, alright. I’ll, um, I’ll stay here with you then.”

Revali nodded to him again, and with the shakiest of hands, he opened the folded letter back up to read.

 

_Dear Elder,_

 

_Nalide laid an egg almost a month and a half ago and every day it's gotten harder and harder for her. She cries._

_Her parents are furious with her for laying, especially since they have never liked me._

_Every day she fears for her future. We're both too young to have a child and our lives are just beginning. Having a child will take our lives a step in the wrong direction before it even starts._

_She wants to be a singer. And she should because she has the most beautiful voice. But when that egg hatches, she won't be able to follow her dreams._

_My own parents are also angry with me, as you probably know. I was supposed to keep the family name going strong and be the village's most esteemed warrior. But instead, I made a girl I wasn't married to lay an egg, and the daughter of a simple potter at that. They say I brought dishonor to our family._

_I wish I could say I regret being with Nalide, but I love her. It's the egg I regret. It's the egg I hate._

_We can't be parents. Our lives would be ruined._

_But out there- Out there in the big, wide open world, we can realize our dreams without any restrictions._

_She'll be Hyrule's most beautiful singer._

_And I'll be her lover. Forever._

_So that's why I left this egg with you before we elope._

_We can't have it._

_But the one thing I ask is that if it's a girl, name her Medori, after Nalide's grandmother. That's all she wants._

_Thank you everything._

 

_-Amehlo_

 

So, that was why his parents left him behind.

That’s why they abandoned him.

He wasn’t important enough for them to pull through.

They just dropped him off and left him, never once considering how that led him to a sad, devastating childhood that still weighed down on him.

His parents had been selfish and self-absorbed morons, only thinking about themselves.

And they _hated_ him. They were _glad_ to be rid of him.

There was not a shred of remorse anywhere. They just wanted him out of the picture so they could live their perfect little lives as far away from him as possible.

And Medori.

He hated seeing that name, even more so penned by the person who was supposedly his father. Out of everything that his parents could've left him, it was the one thing he couldn't even bear to keep.

Revali’s entire body shook; his entire being rattled by the storm that the letter brewed inside of him.

Hot tears burned at the corner of his eyes and without a second thought, he tore and ripped the paper apart viciously. The bitter Tabantha winds blew away the little pieces of the cursed letter as they fell, carrying them away from him.

“Revali…?” Meelo whispered as he started to bring his hand to Revali’s wing again, but he brought it away when Revali began to weakly croak.

“As a child,” Revali began, talking mostly to himself. “When I was holding on to hope for my parents to come back, I had imagined that I came from great stock. That my parents had some sort of mission to fulfill or something important to do and that’s why they left. But, no.” He shook his head, balled his hands into fists, and gritted his beak together. “This entire time they were deadbeats! To think that my parents were the kind to just... _abandon_ their own child without taking any consideration into the fact that their entire childhood, no, their entire _life_ would be an absolute living hell because of that. Fuck, I didn’t even _have_ a childhood because they couldn’t have bothered to even _try_ and take care of me. They just hated me, before I even…”

Ever so slowly, Meelo brought a hand to Revali’s shoulder but said nothing.

With his voice much quieter than before, Revali went on. “I was expecting that some sort of tragedy led to this. Not a couple of stupid, irresponsible, thoughtless-" He interrupted himself with a choke and was unable to finish his sentence. Covering his face with one hand, he let out a couple of low, dry sobs that were impossible to hold back.

Meelo softly squeezed his shoulder and grabbed his other arm to turn him away from the path, then stood in front of him to protect him from any potential onlookers with his slightly taller frame. “Revali, I’m so sorry...”

“No,” Revali choked. _“I’m_ sorry. I’m sorry you have to see me like this. This is so pathetic, I-”

“Uh-uh. It isn’t pathetic at all. I can’t imagine how you must feel right now.” He started to rub Revali’s shoulders in a manner that was surprisingly comforting. “And don’t worry about it. I don’t mind at all.”

Revali let out a scoff through his tears. “I just don’t want you to think less of me, being your role model and teacher and such.”

“I could never think less of you.”

With that, Revali looked up at Meelo to see him warmly smiling down at him with his silver eyes twinkling like two stars. But when their eyes met, Meelo’s flicked to the side and his feathers ruffled.

Revali smiled back even though he wasn’t looking anymore and rubbed at his eyes. “Well, thank you.”

Meelo quickly took his hands off of Revali and stuttered, “Y-You’re welcome.”

The Champion took in a shaky, deep breath and said, “Anyway. I'm going back to the Flight Range to rest. I'm still very tired from the trip from Lurelin. We'll go get the materials Veremi needs after our training tomorrow morning if you still want to join me."

Nodding furiously, Meelo chirped, “O-Okay. I’ll see you in the morning then. Goodnight, Revali.”

“Goodnight, Meelo,” Revali replied as he took a step back and turned around to make his way towards the village’s large landing to fly to the Flight Range.

It was hard to keep in more tears as he walked, but Meelo’s words helped him pull through long enough to hold them in until he was high in the air.

 

~~~

 

“The larger leaves at the base of the plant are what are used to make the cordage. You break it off like so and when you gently rip it apart, you can see all the fibers inside. Do you see that?”

“Mhm.”  
“These fibers are what is used to make flax cordage, which is what the bowstring is going to be made of. So, what we do is separate all the fibers from each other and essentially braid them together,” Revali continued to explain as he took one of the large flax leaves apart, separating each individual fiber string and laying them on his lap as he did so.

Meelo nodded to show he was paying attention, his eyes fixed on Revali’s hands as he worked.

It was late afternoon then, and the two of them were alone in a flax field just west of the Rayne Highlands. The flax plants around them whistled in the harsh breeze; a rolling sea of sunset gold and small mauve flowers.

Teba that morning after training had agreed to let Meelo abandon his post and join Revali that day, but it was clear from the way his face folded in on itself that he was at least a little pissed about it. Revali patronizingly thanked him and then they went their separate ways.

Regardless, Revali took Meelo with him around the Tabantha Frontier to gather the materials needed for Veremi to craft the Great Eagle Bow, teaching him things along the way. When they were getting wood from the massive oak tree by the stables, Revali showed and taught Meelo the proper way to take wood from a tree without harming it too much so that it would be able to grow back. He also taught him how to mine some ore without getting exhausted too quickly when they were getting the higher grade metal they needed.

But now, there they were in a flax field, and Revali was taking the opportunity to teach Meelo about the fibers of flax and how to make it into cordage that would become a bowstring.

The Champion ripped off another leaf from one of the plants next to him and handed it to his protégé and asked him to try and separate the strands of fiber himself.

Of course, he obeyed, and once he was done, Revali showed him the proper way of how to knot and twist the fibers around each other to make the cordage. They did it together once, and then Meelo was told to try it out for himself.

As the young warrior struggled with the little strands of fiber, Revali found himself looking off into the distance, gazing out onto the field while he felt the same wind that tossed around the plants play with his braids. And while watching the flax toss around, for a split second, it reminded him of Link’s golden hair.

It reminded him of its color and how the breeze had always pushed and pulled those extra tufts of hair that were too short for his ponytail.

And that thought of him...it stung for a moment, made his breath got caught in his throat, and left him sitting there, blankly staring out at the field for longer than he meant to, just watching the flax go to and fro...and to and fro..and to and fro…

“Are you alright, Revali?” Meelo asked, a tinge of worry clear in his voice.

Revali said nothing for a moment, completely and utterly entranced by the way the plants around them danced and the melody they created as they brushed up against each other in the breeze.

It was silent for that moment, save for that melody, until ever so slowly, Revali opened his beak to say, “Meelo, may I confide into you for a moment?”

The young Rito’s crest bobbed in interest, and he peeped, “Yes, of course.”

Revali clicked his maize beak in thought and, again, went totally quiet for a bit.

“You know of Link, right?”

Meelo nodded, his two braids knocking around.

“Well, before the Calamity, I…” He faltered, then sighed while shaking his head. “Nevermind. I can’t keep putting all my personal issues on you.”

Laying a gentle hand on Revali’s leg, Meelo uttered, “It’s fine. L-Like I said yesterday, I don’t mind.”

Without looking at him, Revali kept staring at the field silently and clicked his beak again.

“I was in love with him before the Calamity.”

Instead of Meelo’s crest perking up higher in surprise and curiosity like Revali had expected, it flattened against his head quickly and his gray eyes widened. “Wh-What?”

Revali let out something that was a cross between a hum and a sigh. “I know. It’s absolutely unbelievable. So unbelievable that I couldn’t even see it at first for such a long time...I mean, _me_ loving someone like _him?”_ He shook his head and made a low chuckle, remembering his utter denial of his feelings over a century ago. “But I did. And, as luck would have it, he had felt the same, though I didn’t know until it was the very end.”

Meelo was still, studying his mentor as he wistfully recalled the past and quietly rambled out loud.

“I remember it perfectly. I remember when Ganon awakened and how we confessed while the world was crumbling around us.” He scoffed and brought a hand to the side of his face. “I tried to get away, to get to my Divine Beast like the others, but he pulled me down just in the nick of time to kiss me right here,” he said as he tapped a spot at the end of his beak. “I’ll never forget it. Then I told him I loved him, and he told me he loved me. It was the best and worst moment of my life.”

Meelo remained quiet.

“And before I left for Medoh, he stopped me again. ‘I’ll come for you’, he told me.” He looked out into the field, watching the gold get tossed around in the air like Link’s hair had back then while his bright, sapphire eyes fixated on him with such an intense look of determination and confidence. “And, like an idiot, I believed him. I actually thought that he would come for me. That I would see him again and we could pick up from where we left off. But I didn't. He never came and I never saw him.” Revali let out a low, broken laugh and weakly shrugged. “I failed. I was killed. I was sealed on Vah Medoh for a hundred years and Hyrule fell. And so that was the last time that I saw the real Link.”

“‘The real Link’?” Meelo murmured quietly, his crest raising back up just a tad.

Revali closed his eyes and hung his head. “Yes. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but not only was Link’s memory erased during those one hundred years of him sleeping, his personality had wildly changed as well. I had waited for him to come during all that time, an entire century on Medoh all alone, only for him to stumble onto Vah Medoh without any recollection of us. And his eyes were so much different than they had been before the Calamity. He’s not who he once was, and for a long time, I hated him for that.”

Meelo shuffled closer to him as he spoke to brush his fingers against Revali’s arm as if reminding him that he wasn’t alone in that moment and had somebody with him.

It brought Revali some comfort, so he sucked in some air to breathe out before he went on. “But even so, as soon as I was resurrected, I thought of him. I thought that I could make him remember everything and we could have another chance…” He couldn’t follow through with that thought. It was too painful for him to bear, so he closed his eyes again and crinkled his beak in.

“But...Link is engaged to the Zora prince, isn’t he?” Meelo asked, less so because he was unsure, but more to finish Revali’s thought for him.

Revali nodded, his breath, again, getting caught in his throat. “After waiting a hundred years, I’ll never get to have the chance that I had hoped for, because he’s getting married to someone else.” His expression turned sour and his hands curled into tight fists. “And the worst part is that, despite all of that, a part of me still loves him. I catch myself thinking about him all the time and the littlest of things remind me of him.”

Meelo's eyes were wet, but Revali was too lost in his own anguish to really notice.

“And...I...I think he's starting to remember some things. I don't know what they are exactly, but it foolishly gives me hope that maybe...” His hands relaxed and he looked out at the field with heavy eyes, listening to the sounds of the field surrounding them. He said nothing for a while, his silence speaking for him. But then he opened his beak to utter, “But, fate has been sealed. He chose someone else and I…I have to accept that.”

Beside Revali, Meelo kept his beak shut, staying completely silent. Though, after a couple of moments with only the sound of the wind and flax rustling, he gulped, took a deep breath, gingerly held Revali’s arm, and began to stammer. “I-I’m sorry...that sounds really hard. I can't...I can’t imagine what that would feel like, waiting for him for so long….But maybe...”

Revali looked at him from the corner of his eyes, seeing him stare at the ground intensely, as if he was focusing and choosing his words very carefully.

“...Maybe the Goddess brought you back so you could have a brand new life without everything from your past life, um, weighing down on you.” The corners of his beak folded in on themselves. “Maybe it's a chance for a new beginning with new people and new ex-experiences?” With his other hand, he started to play with the flax next to him nervously.

Fully turned to look at Meelo, Revali stared at him.

Meelo’s feathers ruffled with Revali’s eyes totally on him, but still, he continued, quieter this time. So quiet that it was hard to hear him over the harsh wind. “Like, ah, Link had that chance a year ago, and so now he's engaged with someone he met in his new life.” He clenched his eyes shut, talking fast to finish his thought. “Maybe it's your turn to start over, too, without things that held you back and kept you from being happy- Ganon, being a Champion, everything else- after you gave up _everything_ for Hyrule right before the Calamity.”

Silence.

Revali only stared at Meelo, whose feathers gradually fluffed up even more until he swung his head to look at his mentor. “I’m sorry! I know it isn’t my place. I shouldn’t have said anything. That didn’t even make any sense. I’m really sorry! Please forgive-”

“No,” Revali said, stopping Meelo, a grin spreading on his beak. “You’re fine. Thank you. It’s nice to hear what someone else has to say about this. I’ve only had Urbosa and Zelda to talk to about this when I was in Lanayru, but of course, their opinions are different, considering they’re in the same mess I’m in.”

“O-Oh. Okay.”

“And maybe you’re right,” Revali said as he shrugged and stood up. “Perhaps this is my chance for a new life and perhaps I do have to move on. Things are different now and...if the past is too painful to think about, I should just leave it behind.”

He said that, but he knew that it was impossible. There was no way he could ever leave it all behind.

It was a part of him now. Everything that had ever happened was a part of him now and wasn’t something he could just shake off.

And he could never forget about Link. About the way he felt about him, and, about the way he still felt about him.

He had been deeply and utterly in love with him, and that isn’t something you can just forget.

If only he could though.

If only he could forget.

Then maybe he wouldn’t be as painful to live.

Maybe he _could_ go on with his newfound life without what he lost in the past still tightly gripping onto him.

But no.

He could remember.

He could remember everything.

He could remember the way Link’s gorgeous eyes shone whenever he looked at him.

He could remember how gentle Link’s touch was, yet how it sent a violent fire up Revali’s body.

He could remember the way the edges of Link’s lips would curl into a wide smile before he gave in to a laugh.

And oh, Hylia, that _laugh._

Oh, how it lit up the whole world and oh, how Revali was so sure that Link made it brighter.

How could Revali ever forget that?

He couldn’t.

He just couldn’t.

“Who knows,” Meelo murmured as he got up on his feet. “M-Maybe you’ll find someone else…”

As if.

As if Revali could find anyone that could even come close to being as perfect as Link had been.

“Maybe,” Revali lied with a smile, turning away to where he could see Rito Village in the distance, Vah Medoh’s silhouette right above the village clear.

And how could Revali forget with that thing looming over him every single fucking day?

It bore into him, staring at him every day to remind him of everything that awaited him in the past.

Before that night. Before the fire. Before the screams. Before the-

No.

No, he couldn’t think about that now.

Revali shook his head and looked over his shoulder at Meelo. “We have everything we need now, so let’s deliver these to Veremi and call it a day.”

“A-Alright.”

And so, they grabbed all their things, including Meelo’s poor excuses of cordage, and then they were off.

 

L I N K

 

_Be my friend, hold me_

_Wrap me up, unfold me_

_I am small, I'm needy_

_Warm me up and breathe me_

 

“Hopeless. You’re completely hopeless!”

Link was outside, on his knees on the grass and leaning over a tree stump. The sharp edges of the bark stabbed into his bare chest and left countless scrapes and cuts on his pale skin. But he barely even noticed.

“You pathetic little piece of-”

A wooden staff struck hard at his back, over and over. With each strike, he let out another sharp, painful cry and more tears fogged his vision. He could feel the stick eat away at his skin every time a hard swing made contact with his exposed back.

Over and over.

Over and over.

“When I say block, you block! When I say parry, you parry! When I say swing, you swing! When I say dodge, you dodge!” The booming voice that would always rattle his ears and bones screamed at him. “How can you not understand something so simple?!”

“P-Please…” Link’s tiny voice croaked out in between sobs and cries, thick saliva dripping from his mouth. “D-Da...Daddy...Please...St-stop…”

But the only thing he got in response was another excruciating hit by the staff.

Over and over.

Over and over.

Over and over, until there was a panicked but angry yell coming from someone else and the booming voice softened to shout out, “Clara!”

With his entire body shaking, Link turned around, still on his knees, to see a woman with long, gorgeous dirty blonde hair like his scowl up at a bearded man with dusty brown hair.

The man stared down at her with hazel eyes that had once reminded Link of a fire swallowing a green forest, gritting his teeth.

Despite the fire in his eyes, the much shorter woman fearlessly stood her ground, gripping the staff that she took from him tightly in her hands before tossing it far behind her to angrily sign.

 _“You have no right to be so cruel to our son! For Hylia’s sake, he is a four-year-old boy! A child, Silas!”_ She hissed as she furiously moved her hands as if literally letting out steam.

The man looked like he was ready to blow; so much so that his face turned a terrifying crimson. But, thankfully, he took a second to breathe out fumes before he signed back to her. “ _Our son has extreme potential, Clara. It would be a big mistake if I didn’t hone his skills at an early age-”_

The woman let out a short shrill sound, interrupting him before she went on. _“A child with potential is still a child! You cannot hurt him for what he is. This is not training, this is beating.”_

Taking a stomp forward, the man signed, _“You don’t understand.”_

In retaliation, the woman took a step toward him. He towered over her, but she clearly didn’t care. _“I suppose I don't! I cannot ever understand how you value the guard and the sword more than your own son. Your own family."_

 _“You…”_ The man shakily started to sign, his entire body trembling with unadulterated rage.

The two of them locked eyes, boring into each other’s souls.

The woman stayed still, her mouth in a flat line while the other writhed around in his own monstrous fury.

And after what felt like a thousand years, he lifted up a hand, and Link let out a tiny gasp, sure that he was going to strike her face.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his hand fell to his side in a balled up fist and, without a word, he turned around and briskly walked away towards their house by the woods.

The woman with shining golden hair watched him go to make sure he was actually gone before she threw her head towards Link, small tears falling down her cheeks.

With haste, she rushed over, falling onto her knees in front of him and throwing up her hands to gently cradle his face and wipe away his thick tears.

Her eyes peeked out from under her bangs, revealing brilliant, sapphire irises just like his.

They radiated warmth and pure love, and Link immediately knew he was safe.

They were just like the bright, blue skies on a warm summer day, so very unlike the scorching flames of his father’s eyes.

She had been so beautiful.

 _“It’s okay, baby,”_ she signed after bringing her hands away from him, her lips curled into a bright smile in spite of the few tears that streaked down her face. _“It’s okay. You’re okay now.”_

Link dove forward to wrap his small arms around her and to hold her tightly. He cried and sobbed into her chest, gripping onto her dress to hold himself steady as he wailed.

Gingerly, she pet his head and held him closer and sweetly shushed him. Her shushes brought him great comfort, even though the sound she was making was off.

Everything was okay when she was there.

When she was there.

Everything was okay when Mother had been there.

 

~~~

 

Link sat up in bed with a start.

He was surprised to find that his face was completely drenched with tears and that he couldn’t stop sobbing and whimpering.

“M...M-Mo…” He couldn’t even finish. His throat wouldn’t let him and instead, it forced out a painful, choking sob.

Sidon beside him sat up, his golden eyes already wide open. “Link? What’s wrong? Did you have another bad dream, love?”

Link couldn’t even manage a simple nod and collapsed into Sidon to wail and cry into him over something that he couldn’t even remember yet again.

The Zora went stiff for a moment from his embrace, but then regained himself and held onto Link. He looked down at him and moved the bangs out from his eyes, wiping tears away tenderly with one finger. For a beat, he opened his mouth as if about to say something, though he snapped it back shut and held the Hylian closer to him, cradling him in his arms. He started to run his fingers through Link’s hair, just how he liked it.

Embracing each other, they both faced out the window to where they could see the large, brilliant moon outside, shining down on the world below amongst the stars.

And while they sat there in each other’s arms, with Link continuing to cry and Sidon playing with his hair, the prince began to sing the haunting Zora lullaby that he always would whenever Link woke up from a nightmare.

 

_“The little goldfish is swimming 'round the moon tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight…”_

 

He was so afraid of that man. Link couldn’t remember ever feeling that scared before, even after fighting Ganon itself.

 

_“The silver moon in the dark sky is big and bright, and bright, and bright, and bright…”_

 

And her eyes were so full of love. A love that he had lost and that a hidden part of him missed terribly.

 

_“The beautiful moonlight is shining on the sea tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight…”_

 

And it hurt. It hurt so much. He didn’t even understand why it did and why he couldn’t for the life of him stop crying. _  
_

 

 _“So little one, don't worry or fret and just sleep tight, tight, tight, tight…”_ _  
_

 

Why did such an agonizing memory have to be brought to him? Why couldn’t it have stayed forgotten?

 

 _“...Because the little goldfish is swimming 'round the moon tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight…”_ _  
_

 

Forgetting was better than what he was feeling now.

 

_“...And the silver moon in the dark sky is big and bright, and bright, and bright, and bright.”_

  
  


S I D O N

 

 _Breathe in, don't let it out_  
_Tread too far and you're out of bounds_  
_My lungs are toxic now_  
_Don't get close or you will drown_

 

Sidon was the first one to wake up that morning, greeted by the face of Link sleeping beside him in a pool of morning sunlight.

For a moment, he softly smiled and began to move stray strands of golden hair out from in front of his face until something came to mind that made him draw his hand back.

He had suddenly been terrified by the notion of touching Link or even gazing at his face longer than he was supposed to.

Last night, he had been so grateful, being given a chance to hold his love and console him in his disarray. Now, though, things were back to their new normal, and Link wanted nothing to do with him.

So, quickly, he got out of bed to start the next day and leave his fiancé behind in bed.

 

~~~

 

It had been a couple of days after Link’s return at this point.

Sidon had hoped that by then, Link would have stopped being so distant and so cold and that they would already be back to how they were before.

But, no.

It was the same as it had been since he had gotten back.

And Sidon could feel it start to weigh down on him. Before, he found it hard to smile. But now, smiling wasn’t on his mind at all, even if it was for his sister.

Smiling and keeping his spirits up for everyone around him was something he considered to be his duty, but now he couldn’t even bother with it anymore.

So, he was by himself in the back of the Zora castle, signing away at papers mindlessly away from everyone, where he couldn’t be a damper on anyone.

 

There was a sudden knock on the door and it made the prince’s heart almost leap right out of his chest in surprise. His mind had been elsewhere entirely, so the knock violently sent him straight back to reality.

He turned around behind him to see Link, leaning into the doorway with a weird smile on his face.

For a moment, Sidon was both relieved and overjoyed to see Link smile at him, until he realized that that smile was not innocent.

Link wanted something.

“Hey, how’s the paperwork going?” He asked, strolling towards Sidon with that obviously fake smile on his face.

“It’s going fine. As good as paperwork can go,” the prince said with a tiny fake smile of his own, and then turned back to the papers laid out in front of him on the table.

Link continued walking towards Sidon and then hopped up to sit on the table he was working at, peering at him with bright, blue eyes. “I was thinking that we could have lunch with each other or something. We haven’t done that in a bit.”

Without looking up at him, Sidon replied in a monotone voice, “I would love to, but...” and then smacked the top of the stack of papers beside him with his right hand. “...I have a lot of paperwork to get through today.”

All Link uttered was a small, “Oh, okay,” and then he started to kick out his legs in front of him like a bored child.

“But that’s not why you came in here, is it?” Sidon asked flatly, digging his quill into a document as he signed something angrily. Ink seeped from the nib, soaking the page, but he didn’t care. “What is it then?”

He felt Link peer down at him but wasn’t able to properly decipher the look he had on his face. It was a mixture of alarm, fear, guilt, and shame. His lips puckered in like he had sucked on a lemon as he tucked some pieces of hair behind his ear.

“Well, I was wondering if...you know,” Link said with a shrug as if what he was asking was obvious.

“No, I don’t know.” The Zora looked at Link from the corners of his eyes, his golden irises flickering. “Please elaborate.”

It was at that moment that Link realized that this perhaps had been a mistake. He swallowed hard and tapped his fingers against the side of the desk. “I was wondering if you knew if any other villages were having more monster troubles...if anyone needed to be saved...Something like that. I just want something to do. To go back to before when I-”  
“Or, rather, you want an excuse to see Revali again. Is that right?”

Link went totally stiff, like all the air was sucked out of him. He managed to get even stiffer when Sidon finally turned his head to look up at him.

Everything had changed once the Champions, when _Revali,_ came back. Link had become cold and distant, even more so after being with Revali just one time.

What would happen if he saw him _again?_

Would Link grow even colder? Would he drift away further?

And there was something he really didn't like about the way that Link strolled in here with purpose; Not coming in to check up on Sidon or be with him, but to ask him if there was an excuse available to see Revali again.

That unsettled him.

It made him feel sick to his stomach.

“No, that’s not it at all,” Link breathed, trying to loosen himself up. “Like I said, I want something to do. And if Revali wants to join, then whatever-”

“No, _not_ ‘whatever’,” Sidon muttered and then slammed his quill on the desk. “If you want to go out with Revali, that’s _fine._ If you want to be friends with him, that’s _fine._ I just want you to be honest with me for once!”

The Hylian’s brows knitted together, crinkling his forehead. “What? I _am_ being honest!” Leaning forward towards Sidon, he added, “I want to have a reason to actually leave the Domain again. I’m sick of being cooped up here, day in, day out.”

“Well, I’m not stopping you. I’ve never stopped you from leaving.” Sidon’s voice rose without him even realizing it. “You could even leave right now if you wanted to! I wouldn’t give a damn! But you aren’t looking for a reason to leave. You’re looking for a reason to leave to see _Revali.”_

Link’s own voice rose, along with the prince’s. “Yeah?! And so what?! Didn’t you _want_ me to be friends with him again?! What ever happened to that?”  
“‘What ever happened’?!” Sidon was borderline yelling at this point; his voice reverberated around the small room they were in. “Ever since you have gotten back from Lurelin, you can barely even _look_ at me. And before that, you were distant and irritable. That _worries_ me, Link.”

“Well, you don’t need to be worried, because _I’m fine.”_

It was then that Sidon had realized something, when Link had said that.

Sidon wasn’t worried and scared for Link anymore.

He was scared for himself.

“Can’t you at least just tell me what’s been bothering you?! Why does everything have to be such a secret?!”  
Link’s sapphire eyes burned with a certain rage that rivaled a violent, destructive maelstrom. He bared his teeth like a rabid wolf and shouted, “And why do _you_ have to be such a _fucking_ nosey gods damn _pest?!”_

Sidon’s blood felt like fire.

His golden eyes burned, turning red in their sockets.

His bones rattled and shook like an earthquake.

His heart beat a thousand miles too fast for him, pumping fire throughout his veins and burning away all of his sensibility and patience.

Why, oh Hylia, did he have to feel so much?  
He stood up so powerfully and quickly that his chair got knocked to the floor behind him, and he slammed his hands onto the table on either side of Link, digging his claws into the wood.

If Link was going to give him the wolf, he was going to give him the shark.

_“I don’t want you to go out with Revali anymore!”_

Link looked terrified for a moment, his face darkened with fear. But soon, his eyes narrowed and he lifted his chest up to scream, “Well, I _don’t care_ what you want! This is my decision, and you can’t control me!”

“Are you really that selfish? That you never think to stop for a second and consider how anyone else feels beside yourself?! Especially the person you love?!”

“Maybe you’re the one being selfish. You’re the one telling me what to do. You’re the one who tried to-”

“Who tried to help you? Because you were being unreasonably stubborn?”

“You _went behind my back-”_ _  
_ “And I wager that you’re oh so glad that I did. It sure sounded like you enjoyed your time with him. So, you’re welcome, Link. You’re welcome for forcing you two to get together.”

“What is your _problem?!”_

“My _problem_ is that I feel like I'm losing you!” Sidon screamed, slamming a fist on the desk beside Link. “We were so happy before this. _You_ were so happy before this. And now everything is different! You're irritable and quick to anger. You never want to see me or spend time with me. The only time you even want to lay your hands on me is when we make love. But, come to think of it, I can't even call it that anymore. It's too angry and soulless.” Sidon's voice had gradually gotten quieter until it was more of a murmur if anything. He took a step back so he wasn't looming over Link anymore and brought a hand to his face. “Link...Link, I miss you.”

Link's face softened. The hardness was gone and was replaced by a small frown and big, blue eyes. But then something must have changed in his mind, because he licked his lips and went back to furrowing his brows angrily.

“Well, maybe I'm not the one with the issue.”

He hopped off of the desk, landing on the floor with a _tap,_ and started walking towards the door.

“Maybe you are,” Link finished flatly and slowly grabbed onto the door handle.

Sidon whipped around to watch him go. To watch the golden hair that he found so beautiful and soft bounce away as Link walked through the open doorway before shutting the door behind him.

And he stood there, standing and staring at the closed door, biting his lip to hold in a sob that so desperately tried to break free out of his throat.

  


L I N K

 

_So why must we fight, when we seek for love?_  
_And why do we try to break each other down?_  
_Tell me why do we hide behind a masquerade of lies_  
_I try to be the boy that you loved_

 

 _“Fucking idiot! Fucking idiot! Fucking idiot!”_ Link screamed in his mind as he stomped through the castle hallways towards his and Sidon’s room.

He didn't know what emotions exactly brewed inside of him, but it felt like he was literally exploding. Like millions of sticks of dynamite were blowing up inside him and erupting his core, lighting up his skin like nitroglycerin.

He threw open the door with such force and speed that it slammed into the wall behind it. Through the open doorway, he briskly stormed into the room right for the desk in the corner.

“Thinking he can tell me what to do,” Link growled under his breath as he fumbled around, trying to grab a quill out of the jar they sat in as his rage made his hands tremble.

It was the same sort of struggle trying to grab a single sheet of paper out of the stack and trying to open the bottle of ink. His hands were too shaky from anger, making it hard to get a proper grip on anything.

The stack of papers collapsed, spreading pieces across the table and Link was so violent in opening the bottle that ink splashed out and splattered on the papers.

“Fuck,” Link gravelly muttered through clenched teeth and pushed most of the papers off of the desk and onto the ground before messily dipping a quill into the ink.

He grabbed the page that had the least amount of ink on it and smacked it on the desk in front of him.

Then, he brought the nib to the paper.

And began to write.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, Medori is the Japanese name for Medli from Wind Waker. I thought it would be interesting to incorporate that in here.
> 
> and yes! i did in fact spend pointless hours researching flax and flax cordage and i DID basically become obsessed with flax for a week thank u 4 asking !!!!!!!!


	14. Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali tries to reconnect with Medoh twice. The first time, of course, didn't end well. The second time was better than he hoped.  
> Meanwhile, Zelda pulls Link aside to try and get him to talk about...anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i KNOW this is LATE! and i am sorry. I was having a hard time getting myself to write and I didn't want to force it, since it usually ends up shitty when that happens.  
> But. Uhhhh  
> sorry that Zelda's part was totally unnecessary. I realized as soon as i started that i didn't know where i wanted it to end up and it just kept going and going and going...but hey, at least i ended up doing something for femslash February! ...sort of  
> the next two chapters are pretty much planned out though. i'm really excited for the next one! so i'm glad this one is over with.  
> also i probably should have waited a bit longer before posting it so i could edit it all with fresh eyes... but i just wanted this out already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gah!!!!!! so sorry if i missed any mistakes  
> also ig revali's first part makes not as much sense if you didn't read TC....i basically summarized what happened in one of that last chapters...haha
> 
> Lyrics are from You Won't Find Me by Narrow Skies, Numb by Marina (her stage name USED to be Marina and The Diamonds...what happened to THAT?) and High by Young Rising Sons.

 

 

 

 

R E V A L I

 _Steal each breath,_  
_Cut through my skin_  
_And blow winter wind_  
_Give me time here_  
_In the silence_ _  
And freeze, freeze, bitter sky_

Medoh.

Vah Medoh.

It stared at him from across the tundra.

It was facing him, pointing its beak directly at him as he stared back at it, standing ever so still.

No, no.

Not it.

_She._

Medoh wasn’t a thing. She was at alive and she breathed...at least, in her own way she did.

But she was looking at him then with those massive, mechanical eyes; calling to him, begging for him to come back to her so that they could be together again.

 _“I miss you,”_ he could almost hear her say through the wind. _“I miss you.”_

During his short time as a Champion, they had developed a connection, a _bond,_ unlike any other. They had literally become one mind, one soul. They were one before the Calamity.

But when Revali failed and was slain, it was severed, and it was like a part of his spirit was torn away from him once he lost control of his Divine Beast. She had been ripped away from him for so very long until Link came a century later and righted everything, briefly giving Revali control over Medoh again until Ganon was defeated and all the Champions were put to rest.

Temporarily, at least. Apparently.

She had been a friend, in a way to him, but after all that had happened there and after everything that had happened after, even the _thought_ of returning to her shook him to his core. So many awful, terrible things happened up there. So many awful, terrible things happened below him when he was trapped there.

So, he had kept his head down, trying to avert his eyes from her so he wouldn’t be casted back into the darkness that was his memories of everything that happened before his reawakening. Not trying to forget exactly, but simply trying to avoid it, no matter how guilty it made him feel.

And she was just sitting there, patiently, gazing out into the horizon, waiting for her old friend to return to her so that they could be together and rule the skies once again.

And he missed the days where they shot through the sky, Revali not being able to help but burst with gleeful laughter.

_“I miss you. Please come back.”_

But, fuck, Revali was so scared. _Petrified._

Being there again would only remind him of when the horrifying beast tore him to shreds and killed him one hundred and one years ago. He would be reminded of how he was trapped up there while everything and everyone below him, including his family, was destroyed in the flames of the Calamity.

He didn’t want that. The last two times he was thrown back into the past, he literally felt like he was drowning in a deep, black nightmare.

But he owed it to her to visit. He knew he did.

_“I miss you.”_

“I know,” he whispered to himself under his breath, standing completely still with his feet in the snow, looking up at her from across the way. “I miss you, too. I’m sorry.”

The treacherous winds blew his braids about him and he sniffed, feeling his eyes become wet with tears of guilt, shame, and regret. Somehow he was able to hold them back, though his breath shook terribly as he did so.

She continued to stare, unblinking.

And he stared back, everything else but the Divine Beast, _his_ Divine Beast, fading away around him.

He started to revert back into the nightmare in the back of his head as the whole world kept fading into darkness.

_Fire-_

No, no. He couldn’t let the fires burn in his mind again.

No, he had to douse them. Put them out, before the nightmare continued.

Not here, not now. Not here, not now.

Put them out. Put them out.

He clenched his beak and gripped onto his wings with a death grip so tight that it hurt.

But that was good.

The pain was grounding.

Put them out. Put them out.

“Master Revali,” Teba’s voice suddenly said behind him, bringing him back to the real world.

Revali blinked away the wetness that stuck to the corner of his eyes and then turned around to face his pupil, his typical, cynically flat expression plastered on his face to avoid suspicion. “Yes, Teba?” He uttered, cursing himself as he heard a slight tremor in his own voice.

“Breakfast is done,” Teba replied. It was clear from the way his piss-colored eyes fell on him that he noticed that something was wrong, though he said nothing and gave no other indication that he knew.

Revali gave a sort of hum and gruffly said, “Alright.”

Then he turned around, turning his back on Vah Medoh before following Teba into the hut at the Flight Range.

 

~~~

 

“Good job,” Revali said as he put a hand on Meelo’s shoulder. “You’ve definitely shown a lot of improvement.”

Meelo’s feathers immediately ruffled at his mentor’s touch. He lowered his bow, which he had just made a clear shot with, and turned his head to look at Revali with massive, glistening silver eyes. “R-Really?”

Revali let out a low chuckle. “Absolutely. You couldn’t even hold the bow correctly before, and now…” He shifted his eyes over to the fold-up target Meelo was practicing on. “...Your arrows are getting closer and closer to the center. I’m actually quite proud of you.”

With the corner of his beak quivering, Meelo smiled the brightest of smiles. “W-Well, it’s all thanks to you, Revali.”

The Champion laughed again, but it was a bit fuller this time. “It is, isn’t it?”

Meelo started to quietly chuckle, his crest bobbing slightly.

“Anyway,” Revali began as he looked over at Teba, who was circling around the trench and practicing the tips he was given, and called out, “It’s getting to be that time, isn’t it? How about we call it a day and continue this tomorrow morning?”

At that, Teba flew up from where he was to land next to the other two. He looked up at the sky, as if gauging the time of day with the height of the sun, and then turned his head back to Revali. “Yes, I think you’re right. We should probably get moving, Meelo.”

Meelo nodded and put his bow on his back while Revali walked up to the target to fold it and put it away.

They said their goodbyes; Teba respectfully bidding him farewell until that evening and Meelo nervously waving; and then they were off, leaving Revali to his own devices so they could do whatever it is they did.

After the two of them left, Revali stood there in the snow, watching them leave as he thought hard about something. His forehead crinkled in and his beak flattened into a hard line.

He blankly stared up above Rito Village, meeting Vah Medoh’s icy gaze for what felt like hours, well after Meelo and Teba disappeared in the distance.

Then, without giving it a single thought, his wings moved on their own and soon he was in the air, on his way to Rito Village.

 

~~~

 

Revali was finally thrown out of his daze when he found himself atop the rock column of Rito Village, right in front of where his Divine Beast, Vah Medoh, was perched. She, of course, was still completely dormant as she had been for over a year after Ganon's defeat.

Had it been all of his imagination then? There was no sign that she was on or alive in any way. After Vah Medoh's work was done in aiding Link last year, her eyes that had blazed a brilliant blue flickered off and became empty, and that still was the case now. She made no noise to show that she was aware of her owner’s presence, and certainly no indication that she was active.

It really was all just in his imagination.

Truly, he was slowly going insane. He was losing his mind.

 _“I miss you,”_ Revali thought he heard again.

And so, with legs shaking, he took a step towards the massive machine that he used to ride the wind with and gazed up at her with watery, emerald eyes.

He was so scared of Vah Medoh, after everything that had happened, but there was still that severed bond between them that he had to mend. There was an insatiable urge to reunite with her, despite the horror and fear that made it so hard to take another step towards her.

With every step, he felt himself crack.

With every step, a horrific memory flashed in his mind, along with all the senses that came with it.

With every step, incoherent screaming echoed in his head- so loud that he wasn’t even sure if it was his own or someone else’s from the past.

_Step._

He was thrown back to the moment where Windblight’s beams shot him out of the air when he was so sure that he was going to win and return to Link. How it burned like a thousand fires.

_Step._

He remembered when he was hit out of the air like a fly and was flung into the ground with a force so strong that it shattered his ribs, puncturing a lung. How even before that, he already had a difficult enough time breathing, but then he was gasping for air like a fish out of water as his chest was flooded with a pain he had never felt before. How his vision got even mistier.

_Step._

Windblight wrapped its claws around his crumpled body and he could feel that sickening, harrowing fear that crawled up his spine and into his throat as he watched the creature make its way towards a stone column. How it slammed him into it, smashing the last few bones he had that weren’t already destroyed. How it pinned him against the cold stone afterward as he felt his chest collapse in on itself.

_Step._

There was one last shred of determination in him, even as his body was falling apart. It was what drove him to fight until his last breath. Even when Windblight drew its canon on him as he laid in a heap on the ground, he weakly pulled his bow with his broken arms and aimed for it, thinking of no one else but Link and his fallen friends.

_Step._

But that hadn’t been the end. That wasn’t the end of Hylia’s torture. His body had died, but his spirit was still there. It was still there to experience the destruction and slaughter that happened down below him because he was too stupid and slow to defeat his opponent. He was stuck there, forced to watch the flames overtake his home. Forced to watch Guardians and hordes of monsters slay his people. Forced to watch everything he had ever known be obliterated as blood flooded the streets and shrieks rung in the air.

_Step._

He saw Koni, collapsed at the end of one of the landings as his husband and Revali’s mentor stood in front of him to protect him from the group of silver Moblins closing in on them. He saw how Kezul, so decrepit and weak, held onto his spear so tightly. How Koni yelled at Kezul to leave him behind and how Kezul refused, despite how he was only hanging on by a thread at that point. How the fires illuminated their tear-stained faces as their enemies drew nearer.

_Step._

And soon, the group of Moblins were on Revali’s mentor, whose wounds and old age slowed him down, making him vulnerable to the monsters that ripped into his flesh and mutilated his body until even after he was dead. How the biggest Moblin of the group picked Kezul up by his neck and held him up as if he were a trophy. How limp his body was and how the wood beneath him was covered with his feathers and stained with his crimson blood. And, oh, how loud Koni screamed.

The creature tossed the corpse to the side before it and the others scampered away when they heard something. How Koni scrambled to cradle the body of his husband in his arms, crying thick tears over him as he continued to wail.

_Step._

Somehow, Koni was able to hear Revali as he called out to him to warn him of the Guardian that was approaching, and slowly craned his head up so they could meet eyes and so Revali could see how the fear glossed over the forest green. How, even then, his face lifted up into a bit of joy at seeing him.

The Stalker Guardian rounded the corner and stepped on a burning building, which crumbled underneath its weight and exploded with fire.

And while Revali continued to scream and cry as he tried to break the barrier that was keeping him from stopping this nightmare, Koni smiled. And even though the machine was readying its ray to kill him, Koni's smile was so calm and loving, totally bare of any kind of fear as a small tear trickled down his cheek.

And how, with a quivering beak, he mouthed words that would stick with Revali, even now.

_Step._

_“It’s not your fault.”_

_Step._

And so the ray came, shooting Koni and the landing below him so that the remains of Koni and Kezul fell down, down, down into the dark depths of the lake below.

And Revali screamed from up so high in the air that no one could hear him.

_Step._

And Revali remained there on Vah Medoh for a hundred years afterward, forced to relive that scene over and over and over again.

How the fires lit up the sky that night.

How the air was thick with his people’s cries as they were slaughtered.

How the silver Moblins were stained with Kezul’s blood after they butchered him.

How the Guardian appeared, death close behind.

How Kezul and Koni’s bodies fell.

Down, down, down.

_Step._

_Stop._

Revali’s entire body trembled as thick tears silently streamed down his face.

He couldn’t do it.

Of course, Vah Medoh had once been apart of his spirit, his _soul,_ but now all she was was a memory of his pain and of the nightmare that his past was.

He took a wobbly step back away from Medoh and he nearly tripped.

 _“It really wasn’t your fault, you know,”_ Revali thought he heard her say to him.

His heart pattered against his chest and, just like back then, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

He gasped for air as he watched the sky above him darken to obsidian without any stars to light up the sky.

He took a step back and he felt his feet splash in something cold. That wasn’t blood, was it?  

Vah Medoh’s eyes began to glow blue, but it wasn’t the bright blue that they had flashed before. It was whirling ultramarine and her body radiated with an unnatural red as she turned her head towards him.

She looked at him.

She stared at him.

Again, Revali stumbled backward and almost fell. His shallow breaths became wheezy gasps.

“No,” He whimpered. “No, no, no, no, no, no…”

His eyes fixated on Vah Medoh as he froze in place. He could hear nothing but the deafening sound of his own beating heart. He could feel something tugging at his arm but he was so fixed on that machine that he just couldn't-

“Revali,” a voice behind him said softly, hurling him back into the real world.

The sky above him faded back into the blue-ish gray it had been before. It was no longer as dark as the abyss.

And no, it wasn’t blood that he stepped in, of course. It had rained while he was having his episode. He hadn’t noticed because he was so enraptured by what he saw. He had just stepped in a puddle.

And no, Vah Medoh wasn’t staring down at him. She was still staring out on the horizon, perched where she was before with eyes as lifeless as they had been for over a year.

And, suddenly, Revali was able to breathe again, and after taking a moment to wipe his eyes that were still pumping with tears, he turned to see who it was that brought him back to the land of the living.

It was Meelo.

Of course, it was Meelo.

Of fucking course.

Praise be to Hylia.

Revali opened his beak to deeply croak, “Meelo? What are you doing here?”

He must’ve sounded upset with the poor kid because his feathers stood on end and his gray eyes that had been so soft before widened in anxiety.

“Sorry. I'm sorry! I...I know it was wrong of me, but I saw you f-flying here and I could...I could just tell that something was off...I wanted to make sure you were o-okay,” the young warrior explained as he quickly brought his hand back to himself. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Revali turned away from Meelo, ashamed that he saw him in such a vulnerable state again. “Nothing that you have to worry yourself about.” He crossed his wings, held onto himself, and added, “You can go back to whatever you were doing now.”

Meelo said nothing for a short moment, but then he took in a deep breath of air and said, “Can I at least get you out of this rain? You'll get soaked out here.”

“I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Please, let me help,” Meelo murmured as he reached out a hand for Revali.

But Revali smacked it away.

“I _said_ I don't need your help!” He crowed.

Unlike what was expected, Meelo didn't look scared or anxious at Revali's reaction. Instead, he looked calm and concerned, maybe even determined to help.

There was no way he was going to leave him alone.

Why couldn't he just…

“I...I don't…” He choked. “I don't need…” Revali was unable to coherently say any more words, as he had broken out in the tears that he tried to withhold. “I...I…” He grossly sobbed, his disgust with himself for breaking down only making him cry more.

Again, Revali expected Meelo to just stare at him with large, neurotic doe eyes, unsure of what to do.

But he didn't.

Without a word, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Revali, hugging him and holding him close.

Revali was surrounded by his warm embrace, almost shielded from the rain above as Meelo held him into his chest.

It wasn't until then that he realized the last time he had ever been hugged like this, or at all, was when Urbosa hugged him in Lanayru months ago. He didn't even realize how starving he was for this kind of contact, especially with all the emotions that had been running through him since then.

For once, he felt safe and protected in a way- safe to release all the emotions that he had tried so desperately to bottle up. 

So, he wrapped his arms around Meelo as well and gripped onto him, steadying himself as he cried and sobbed and whimpered and wailed about absolutely everything.

About the terror he experienced when he was being mercilessly killed.

About the fear he felt as he lost his friends.

About being sealed on Vah Medoh for a century where no one could see or hear him.

About Koni.

About Kezul.

About his people.

About his failures.

About Link.

About how scary these episodes were and how he wanted them to stop.

And Meelo stayed quiet, rubbing Revali's back as he gushed tears, not minding the rain at all.

And they stood there in the rain, Revali wasn't sure for how long, holding one another as they both were getting drenched.

“I really wish you didn't have to see me like this,” Revali sniveled once he was able to speak again.

“I already told you,” Meelo said with a voice that was so light that he clearly was smiling. “I don't mind.”

Revali sniffed. “This is very unprofessional.”

“U-Unprofessional?”

“I can't just confide and cry into you like this,” Revali said with a weak laugh and another sniff. “You're my student.”

“And you're my friend,” Meelo replied without a beat, but then went stiff and quiet again when the other Rito didn't say anything. “I...I guess.”

“I think it's safe to say that at this point, we are. It would be a bit strange if we weren't.”

The younger avian giggled a bit awkwardly. “Well, I'm glad you think so.”

Revali pulled away and let go of Meelo to wrap his arms around himself. “Alright, I think I'm ready to get out of this rain. I feel like I look like a drowned rat.”

With a smile, Meelo brought one hand up above Revali to shield his mentor's face from the rain. “You look great.”

Revali looked up at Meelo to see silver eyes bright with a sweet kindness that warmed him up from the cold rain.

It…

It reminded him of Link.

His feathers ruffled slightly at that thought, but not enough to be noticeable.

“Naturally,” Revali said as he waveringly smirked, rubbing at his eyes to get the last remaining stubborn tears off his lashes.

Meelo softly laughed. “How about we go back to the Flight Range and I make you something to eat?”

“Don't you have a job to do? You'll certainly get in trouble with Teba.”

“I'm taking care of the Champion...he shouldn't get mad. I...I hope.”

“I suppose you're right. He would probably let it go if you were with me again.” Revali brought a hand to his mouth and chuckled. “But, can you even make anything else besides those roasted mushrooms?”

“I...um...yes…I can.”

The Champion raised his eyebrows. “Oh? What else can you make?”

“Er...you'll just have to see,” Meelo mumbled as he looked off to the side sheepishly.

Revali laughed. “Whatever you make, I'm sure it'll be great.”

“Th...thanks, Revali...”

“Now let's get out of this gods forsaken rain already. It'll soil my feathers.”

  


Z E L D A

 _Forgo family, forgo friends_  
_It's how it started, how it ends_  
_I can't open up and cry_ _  
'Cause I've been silent all my life_

 

Zelda was rudely awakened by the blinding light of the morning sun shining directly onto her face that morning.

Resisting her awakening, she grumbled and rolled over, shutting her eyes tighter as she found solace from the annoying sun rays in the crook of Mipha’s neck.

If Mipha hadn’t already been awake, she was now, as she let out a tiny, surprised yelp at Zelda digging her face in her neck from behind.

It made the Hylian princess smile, even in her drowsy state, and she wrapped her arms around the Zora girl to pull her in even closer.

“W-Well, good morning to you, too,” Mipha murmured and twisted around in Zelda’s arms so that they were facing one another.

Even though Zelda had clenched her eyes shut to protect them from the light, she opened them because she wanted nothing more than to see Mipha’s gorgeous golden eyes and her brilliant smile.  

And there she was, the most beautiful girl in the world, right in front of her, sharing a warm gaze with her.

Zelda closed her eyes again, pursed her lips and tilted her head for a kiss when Mipha stopped her and giggled. Her eyes fluttered open to see her girlfriend cracking a tiny grin and reaching out towards her face.

“You have hair in your mouth,” Mipha said as she moved several strands of blonde hair out of Zelda’s mouth, which were thick and wet with slobber.

The Hylian girl turned red with embarrassment and squeezed her eyes tight again. It wasn’t until she felt the warmth of lips on hers that she opened her eyes for the third time and saw Mipha pull away with a smile.

Still groggy, Zelda returned the smile with a lazy grin and then leaned down to plant kisses on her neck and collarbone.

Mipha laughed and squirmed, blissfully squeaking Zelda’s name as she did.

After several kisses were planted, Zelda laid her head on the other girl’s chest and rested her hands on her waist. “I love you,” She happily grumbled, the first words she had spoken that morning.

“I love you, too,” the Zora princess cooed as she began to play with Zelda’s hair.

Zelda hummed and nestled even further into Mipha. “I want to stay here like this forever,” she whispered so quietly that she wasn’t even sure she said it out loud.

“I would love that.” Mipha chuckled. “But I’m sad to say that we have to attend breakfast.”

“No, we don’t…” the Hylian muttered as her hands fell down to Mipha’s hips, feeling the curvature of her body.

Zelda heard Mipha’s heart beat faster, but instead of giving a flirtatious response like Zelda hoped she would, she reached down to grab one of Zelda’s hands to calmly take it off her hip. Thankfully though, she brought Zelda’s fingertips to her mouth to kiss them tenderly. “Oh, yes we do, Zelda.”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“I love you, but we do have to go.”

“But, you’re so comfortable…”

“And so are you,” Mipha said. “Would the fact that they’re serving your favorite today motivate you to get out of bed?”

Zelda jerked her head up to blink up at her girlfriend, silent excitement brightening her jade eyes.

“Bostocks.” Mipha playfully emphasized every syllable as she spoke, her smile spreading farther as she saw Zelda’s reaction to this revelation.

“Apple-cinnamon?” Zelda asked, her mouth beginning to water.

Mipha nodded.

And Zelda was up. “Well, in that case…” She heard cute, soft laughter behind her as she tore herself away from Mipha and sat on the edge of the bed.

“You’re so adorable, Zelda,” Mipha chuckled to herself as she sat up as well.

Zelda looked over her shoulder and furrowed her brows before diving towards Mipha and viciously kissing her on the cheek. “You’re the adorable one!”

Again, Mipha bubbled with her sweet laughter and then cradled Zelda’s face in her hands. She gazed down at her with that look of hers that made Zelda’s stomach warm before she simply and flatly uttered, “Bostocks.”

Zelda ripped herself away from the Zora’s grasp and chirped, “Right!” and began her search for her clothes as the love of her life giggled behind her.

 

~~~

 

Unfortunately, no bostock in the world could have made that breakfast bearable.

Sure, there had been some tension between Link and Sidon for a while now, but something must have happened because the air between them was so ugly that it made Zelda's stomach feel sick.

They sat next to each other but kept their eyes on their plates, wearing the most irate and pensive expressions she had ever seen. It made the room feel so heavy that _she_ even felt weighed down by whatever was going on between them.

Zelda exchanged a glance with Mipha and it was clear they were thinking the same thing.

_“Oh, no.”_

The both of them did their best to go on like nothing was the matter so as not to put a spotlight on Link and Sidon during breakfast and not to put a damper on the whole meal for everyone else.

However, it was a fruitless effort trying to quietly keep the peace, because as soon as all the food was off of Link’s plate, he got up and left the Dining Hall, going who knew where.

And as much as she, and Mipha too, judging by the way she squirmed, wanted to get up and run after him, Zelda remained in her seat, trying not to make a scene out of the situation.

But she decided that as soon as the meal was officially over, she would search for him and confront him.

And so, once she could politely excuse herself, she did.

 

After searching the castle for a good while, she saw Link striding out of the entrance way with an envelope in his hand.

His face was contorted into an ugly snarl of sorts as he walked, grasping onto the envelope so tightly that it was almost crumpled in his hand.

Zelda quickly walked forward to get to him and stopped him by laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Immediately, he froze and slowly turned his head so he could see the princess behind him from the corner of his eye. His eyes that she swore were red with fury now were wide open with the childlike fear of being caught doing something he was not supposed to.

“Link,” she said calmly.

He fully turned around to face her, but once his eyes were fully on her, his breath began to tremble. “H-Hey, Zelda…”

“May I speak with you?”

Link looked behind him, glancing at the mail deposit where he was going to drop off the letter and then looked back at Zelda. “Yes.”

She grabbed his hand then and twisted around, pulling him into the castle where he just came from so they could speak alone away from prying eyes and ears.

 

“I'm sorry for being so rough with you,” Zelda said as she led Link to her room and shut the door behind him. “I just think it was very important that we spoke. I can tell something has really been bothering you and I want to help.”

Link sat down on the seat in front of the window but said nothing.

“You were about to send a letter, right? I should've let you send it first before tugging you away...Who was it for?”

Again, Link remained silent but held up the letter and flipped it to show the name written on the front of the envelope.

 _‘Revali’_ was written in the center with messy writing.

Zelda pursed her lips and sighed. “Right. I shouldn't have needed to ask.”

“What was it that you wanted to talk about?” The Hylian boy croaked after licking his lips.

She narrowed her eyes on him as she sat on the edge of her bed. It wasn’t an angry, hostile sort of narrowing, but more of a way of studying him and how he squirmed at her gaze awkwardly. “Like I said, I noticed how you've been acting for the past couple of weeks. It looks like you've been uneasy about something. Agitated. I'll admit, it's been worrying me.” She crossed her legs and waited for him to make some sort of input.

But Link only looked at her with big, blinking eyes.

Zelda clasped her hands together and went on. “And, frankly, it seemed that something was especially wrong at breakfast today. You didn’t look up from your plate or say anything. Not to mention that you weren’t there at all for dinner last night. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered.

“Did something happen?”

Even though Link kept his lips sealed shut, it was obvious from the way he tapped his fingers together and looked down at the ground that he wanted to say something. “Not really.”

“Are you sure?”

He shifted his lips around in thought before he tossed his head back and scoffed out a rough sigh. “Yes, okay, something happened,” he said. “Yesterday Sidon and I got into a fight. It was pretty bad.”

Zelda wished that she could say she was surprised, but she wasn’t.

It felt almost unfair that her and Mipha were living the dream together. Every moment with her felt magical and every time she looked at her, she was filled with such gratitude and thankfulness for the Goddess bringing them back together.

All while Link and Sidon, who were engaged for so long and supposed to be “soul mates” were fighting and unable to even look at each other.

She felt guilty, almost.

But that was beside the point.

“O-Oh. I’m sorry,” Zelda said, not knowing what to say after she was sidetracked by her own thoughts.

Link shook his head. “No, don’t be. It was my fault anyway.” He paused. “It always is.”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, of course,” Zelda began as she furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully. “But what was it that you fought over exactly?”

The room was silent for a moment that dragged on so long that Zelda expected him not to give an answer. But then Link opened his mouth to reply. “Revali. Sort of.”  
“Revali?”

“About me wanting to see him again.”

“Does Sidon not want you to see him again?” She asked while squinting at him, worried that the answer was yes.

Before answering, Link shuffled in his seat and gave a short, little sigh. “I guess.”

“Why?”

Link squinted back at her and frowned, clearly annoyed by her interrogation.

But she wasn’t going to call it off just because he was annoyed with her, so she kept staring at him until he clicked his tongue in exasperation and finally gave a reply.

“Because I’ve been an asshole ever since Revali came back. That’s why.” He leaned back against the window behind him as he spoke, crossing his arms behind his head. “And I've been even more of a shithead since I've gotten back from Lurelin.”

“Is that what he said?”

“No, that's what _I_ said. Because it's true. Because I'm a shithead.”

“Link, you are _not_ a shithead.”

Link closed his eyes and sniffed, then leaned forward off the window to set his elbows on his knees and cup his hands together. “You should know better than anyone else that that isn't true.”

Zelda cocked her head to glance away at the wall for a second before looking back at Link. “I've already told you I've forgiven you.”

“That doesn't mean I'm less of a stupid fucker,” her once appointed knight growled, flicking his eyes towards the ground. “That doesn't mean I'm not a-” His harsh, hard tone stopped as he choked mid sentence. Blue eyes became watery as his breaths became loud and haggard. “Zelda, I'm so sorry. I'm so so so so sorry for everything. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I'm sorry that I'm not as good of a person as I was before-”

“Link,” Zelda stopped him. “You're not less of a good person. You're just different than how you were-”

“And who I was was _clearly_ better than being this awful fucking piece of shit that I am now!” He cried out and then gripped the sides of his head with his fingers. “I've been terrible to you. I've been terrible to _everyone,_ even though I try so hard to be better. And now I….” He sucked in a wet breath. “...Now I can't even look at my fiancé without thinking about _him._ I've done so many bad things, but this takes the fucking cake.”

“Do you still love him?” Zelda blurted out without a beat.

She didn't know if she meant to ask whether he still loved Sidon or Revali.

But, luckily, Link translated it as being about Sidon.

“Of course I love him! I love him so much! I know I haven't been acting like it, but I do! He's still everything to me!” Link shouted, but it was more like a sob if anything. “And nothing can change that. Not even these damn memories that are fucking with my head!” He grabbed a fistful of his hair and began to tug, so overcome with all the emotions flooding into him.

It was then that Zelda briskly stood up to sit down next to him and wrap a comforting arm around his shoulder. He didn't let go of his hair, but his breathing did slow down and became stable.

“I can't imagine how confusing it must be for you,” the princess said. “You found a happy life for yourself after everything finally settled down, only for all of this to happen and rattle everything back up. I'm sorry.”

Link shook his head and let go of his hair, thankfully. “No, I'm just...I'm just being a coward.”

“No, you aren't.”

“Yes, I am.”

Well, to be fair he wasn't exactly acting like a hero in this situation. He wasn't trying to figure anything out; to organize his thoughts, talk things out, and make amends for his behavior. He was only avoiding, hiding, and throwing fits.

But he didn't need to hear that at that moment.

“Have you gotten any other memories back? Since that one from a couple weeks ago?” Zelda asked, diverging the subject into another direction.

Link stiffened under her arm, sat completely still, then nodded. “Yeah. It was the other night. I think I...had a dream about my parents.”

Zelda herself went stiff.

She knew nothing about Link's parents or family at all, for that matter.

As a child, she had overheard bad things about his father, Captain Silas Drasos. She had overheard talk of how cruel he was to his children and heard guards talk about how they noticed suspicious bruises on Link’s skin.

And when they were both older and he became her personal appointed knight against her wishes, she knew better than to ask.

And of course, he never said anything on the matter.

So she didn’t know anything.

And now she didn’t have anything to tell him.

Rumors about his father being a cruel, potentially violent man was all she knew, and she doubted that it would be comforting.

“What was it about?” As soon as the question left her mouth, Link cringed slightly and Zelda regretted asking.

“Uh, it was about my mom,” Link stuttered. “It was her protecting me from…” He hesitated. “...Something.”

“I know a little about your father; I think I've even met him before, but never your mother. What did you remember about her?” She curiously asked him.

“Well,” Link started. “I definitely got my looks from her. She had the same hair as me, but really long and beautiful. Her eyes were like mine, too.” He looked off into the distance as he spoke, focusing on what little things he remembered of her. “I'm not sure, but I think she might have been deaf. She only signed and when she made noises, she didn't seem as... _aware_ of them, I guess. At least that's what it looked like from that little piece I got.”

“Interesting,” the princess uttered to herself as she nodded.

“And her smile…” Link chuckled a little and smirked, as if the thought of his mother smiling was so amazing it made him do the same. “It was so pretty. _She_ was so pretty. And so strong. And safe…” He drifted off and his grin fell into a sad, empty look. “Mom was so perfect. She made everything okay. She didn't deserve...Sh-She didn't deserve…” His voice trembled as his eyes became so wet that they began to leak tears that streaked down his face.

“What didn't she deserve?”

Zelda's voice seemingly brought him back to the world of the living and Link jumped a little. He touched his cheek to find water at his fingertips and he sniffed and rubbed at his face with his arm. “I don't know. Sorry.”

“No, no. I'm very sorry, Link. This turned into more of an interrogation than me trying to be helpful. Please forgive me.”

“It's fine.” Link sniffed. “It feels better talking about this stuff out loud. There's too many things going on for me to properly process, so this helps I think.”

The Hylian girl smiled softly. “I'm glad to be of service, then. Would you like some tea or something? We can keep talking over some if you would like.”

“That would be great actually, thanks.”

“Alright,” Zelda said as she stood up and started walking towards the door. “I'll be right back.”

“Okay.”

A small smile was still spread across Zelda's lips as she began making her way out the door and down the hallway.

Though, she swore she heard a small sob choke out from the room soon after she left.

  
  


R E V A L I

  
_If this is low, I'm looking for high_  
_High, high_  
_Just let it go enjoy the ride_ _  
Without the low there ain't a high, high_

 

The episode with Vah Medoh made Revali realize just how much he was losing control of his emotions and his mind and just how restless he had become.

Aside from training with Meelo and Teba and helping Veremi when he could, he had nothing to do and it was only driving him more and more insane by the day.

It was then that he had remembered how in his past life, Revali had routinely scribbled down in a personal journal of his to express feelings that he felt unable to outwardly express, helping him to stay in his best of mind. It was how he processed his feelings and vented out the emotions he didn’t know what to do with. He had gotten them out in a place where no one could ever see.

In fact, he had had a separate, extra private journal that nobody _ever_ knew about where he had written about Link specifically.

Unfortunately.

(But he didn’t want to think about that right now.)

And so, he decided that he would begin to write again to pass the time and to vent out the range of emotions he had been feeling recently.

After making this decision, he had even gotten a fresh new journal for himself at the general store, where he again was treated like a celebrity, which was a blessing and a curse in and of itself.

It, he had to admit, was a lot more beautiful than the journal he had had before. This new one was hand-sewn and made with leather and thick, cotton paper and he was quite eager to try it out himself.

And when he began to write, he felt a comforting sense of nostalgia writing in a journal while swinging in a hammock at the Flight Range. And while he journaled about all of Hylia’s misdeeds, he also remembered the time where he had tried out poetry, and he suddenly was very determined to write it for the first time in literally forever.

However, he was…

A bit rusty.

And perhaps a bit too unhinged to be very poetic.

 

_There once was a Zora pinhead_

_Who was so hideous he must've been inbred_

_His eyes, the color of pee_

_And we all can agree_

_That all of Hyrule would be better off if he just FUCKING DROPPED DEAD_

  
  


He started to scribble angrily, envisioning that insufferable fish’s face until the corner of the page was completely black. Even then, he kept scribbling while huffing like a wild animal.

That stupid, fatuous, ugly, imbecilic, disreputable, puerile son of a-

“Hellooooo, Reva- Oh, shit!” cried out a small voice from outside, making Revali sit up and twist around to look out at the landing just in time to see a tiny Rito crash-land right on her face.

Again.

“Yeesh!” Meezuli chirped as she jumped up on her feet and straightened her uniform, mint feathers ruffled in all their cotton ball glory. “I really oughta learn how to stick that freakin’ landing...This is getting _pretty_ embarrassing…”

Revali swung his legs so they dangled off the side of the hammock he was in. “It seems to me like you need some flying lessons, Meezuli.”

The tiny avian girl furrowed her brows as her beak contorted into a sweet grin. “Thanks for the offer, sir, but I know how to fly. I’m not a stinkin’ hatchling. Those wind currents are just too rough for my little pipsqueak body.”

Revali blinked at her and then threw his head back and laughed. Somehow he was still surprised, but very much entertained, that Meezuli had no issue with showing off her spunk and snark in front of her Champion. “Whatever you say. Now then…” He started as he hopped off the hammock and began to walk over to her. “...What brings you here?”

“A letter of course, sir,” Meezuli said as she swung her bag in front of her to search through the billions of letters and small packages inside.

The corners of Revali’s beak tightened and his breath got caught in his throat.

Well, yes, of course.

Why else would she be here?

It wasn’t long before she found the letter in question and whipped it out. “From Lanayru, as always.”

He took it from her, unsurprised, but horrified, to see the royal Zora again on the envelope.

Once he got it, he stared down at it and ran his thumb over it.

“Well,” Meezuli piped up, making Revali look back up at her. “I have a whole heap of stuff to deliver, so I have to be off. I'll be in town for a couple of days, so no rush on writing the reply.”

“Alright. I will see you another time then. Watch yourself on the way out, Meezuli.”

The little ave girl bellowed a hard laugh and started to walk backward down the landing. “Yeah, I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of you a fourth time.” She smirked, waved and then turned around to get ready for take-off. “Bye, Revali, sir.”

Revali only waved back as he watched her leave and smiled to himself when he saw her avoid the trench so its strong currents wouldn’t throw her this way and that, and make her way to Rito Village unscathed.

He brought his attention back to the letter in his hands, and while he blankly stared at its seal, he shuffled back into the hammock he was in before.

This letter was more mysterious than the others, as he had no idea what to expect this time around.

Of course, he instantly believed it was from Link, but was it?

It could have been Mipha, fussing over him and asking him if he was alright, or Zelda doing the same.

It could have been Sidon, writing him to tell him to back off and never talk to Link ever again.

Or it could be Link.

Revali gulped a hard gulp, then with shaky hands, ripped open the envelope and took out the actual letter inside.

He was both relieved and scared when the handwriting he saw was Link's.

 

_Revali,_

 

_There’s a pair of Lynels wandering around Blatchery Plain._

_How about it?_

 

That’s all it said.

There was nothing else on the back- Revali had checked.

Revali felt the edges of his beak curl into a smile as he stared down at the letter for several minutes, reading it over and over again.

Link had actually written to him, and of his own volition, no less.

It made him happy.

After being so drained from doing the same thing every single day, the excitement and joy he had gotten from Link’s letter brought back a certain sense of confidence and courage that he had thought he lost after his resurrection.

He looked out across the tundra, towards the village built on columns of rock.

He looked at the Divine Beast perched at the very top, and again, met eyes with her as she looked off into the distance.

He looked back down at the letter in his hands, thinking of Link.

And then he looked back up.

Revali took in a deep breath of air and folded the letter in half, eyes still focused on Vah Medoh.

 _“I think…”_ He thought to himself. _“I think it's high time I get over myself and try again.”_

And so, very carefully, he stepped out of the hammock and out onto the landing, keeping his eyes on the machine.

Gingerly he folded the letter more so that it became a thick square and then tucked it into his shirt.

 

~~~

 

He didn't have the courage of his own to return there that day, but the next morning, after training, he found himself on top of the rock column next to Vah Medoh without any clear recollection of ever flying there. Revali didn't even really register where he was until he saw Medoh right there in front of him.

He had flown there without even thinking before he had a chance to get scared again and keep him from just going ahead and doing it already.

And while that was a very smart decision on his part, now that he was here, he didn't want to be at all.

He gulped and took an anxious step back once he came to his senses.

But he had more confidence than he had before. He had more power over his fear, he felt, from Link writing to him.

He wasn’t going to run away.

Not this time.

“H-Hey,” he wavered stupidly under his breath like a terrified child as he took a step forward.  
And there was no obsidian in the sky.

No crimson staining the ground.

No large, mechanical blue eyes staring him down.

That was progress at least.

Maybe he really _could_ do this.

But even so, every fiber of Revali’s being screamed at him and begged him to turn back and run away as he trembled. But he persisted and fought through his fear, no matter how much his body quaked at the thought of being up there again.

With a flap of his wings, he landed at the entrance of Vah Medoh. Before entering, he squeezed his eyes shut and took in the deepest of breaths before stepping inside, legs shaking as he did.

Still, his body urged him to turn back, but there was no way he was going to now that he was already inside, making it further than he hoped he would. A tight anxiety wrapped around his chest as he proceeded further into his Divine Beast.

It was eerily quiet inside. He had gotten so used to hearing the rough wind that never stopped blowing around him during his time in Tabantha, but the walls that surrounded him kept the wind far away. It was so still and silent that it was crushing him and the only thing he heard as he made his way through his old tomb was his reverberating footsteps.

Revali clenched his beak shut to try and keep his heavy, quivering breaths steady, but they broke through as tears of fright stung his eyelids. His arms shook as his hands curled into tight fists, and his legs never stopped shaking as he kept walking through the place he had been trapped in for a century.

As he walked, he could feel a presence he knew wasn’t there creeping up his spine.

He remembered what it had been like being stuck on Vah Medoh with no companion other than the monstrous beast that had slain him. He remembered how its eye glowed and how razor-sharp its claws that had dug into him and ripped him open were.

He remembered all his gashes, broken bones and deep wounds and how they filled him to the brim with pain unlike anything he had ever experienced. He swore that he could feel his wing break and his chest collapsing in on itself as his legs continued carrying him further inside.

A part of him, again, cried to him to turn back and leave this awful place and return to safety.

But, clearly, another part of him was so adamant about overcoming this fear, because his feet kept on moving nonetheless.

And they were picking up the pace.

And so were his tears, thick and repugnant.

Yes, he had been trapped here after being viciously killed. Yes, those terrifying memories sunk their teeth deep into his mind.

But then he had started to remember those uplifting moments when he was in the air with Vah Medoh, riding the wind and ruling over the skies.

He remembered the strong connection, the bond, they had back then that was like no other.

Remembering those moments that brought Revali such unadulterated joy helped him break through his fear and give him the strong incentive to bring back things to what they once were.

It was worth it.

And so suddenly, with eyes so full of tears that he could barely see, he was outside and close to the main terminal.

His pace slowed and he wiped his eyes.

The realization that he was so close to reconnecting with Medoh hit him like a tidal wave as he took in another deep breath and shakily held out his arm…

And slapped his hand down onto the touchpad of the terminal.

Honestly, he half-expected that nothing would happen and he would feel like a fool, and the momentary silence and stillness afterward validated that worry. But then the terminal flickered on and glowed a bright, beautiful blue.

Revali's eyes opened wide and his beak creased into a giant smile in utter disbelief. The tears started to return and he stepped back, watching the terminal flashing into an even brighter, more brilliant blue before him.

And then Vah Medoh let out her triumphant call, rattling the entirety of the machine as she let everyone in Tabantha know that she was once again, alive.

Revali was so overcome with an emotion that was more than happiness.

More than joy.

More than _bliss._

It was almost too much for him that he stumbled backward and began to roar with laughter while Vah Medoh let out another call, perhaps her way of laughing along with him.

“Medoh...” he trembled, trying to balance himself. “It’s...It’s been a while.”

She let out a soft trill in reply.

The tears that had come back so lightly began to fall full force no matter how quickly he tried to wipe them away. “I missed you, old friend.” He let out a hard sob. “I’m so sorry I let that happen to us.”

Medoh gave a sweet purr as if telling him he had no reason to be sorry.

“Now, I don’t know about you,” Revali said as he rubbed at his eyes with his arm, somehow succeeding at removing most of the salty tears. “But I would love to fly with you again after all these years. What do you think about that?”

The Divine Beast let out another excited shriek, and before Revali knew it, she leaned forward in her perch, readying the fans on her wings to take flight. And with her big, mechanical legs, she jumped high into the air. She folded her legs close to herself as the fans blew hard enough to create their own wind currents that were strong enough to carry the beast up, up, up into the air.

And it was amazing.

It was wonderful.

It was even better than Revali had remembered.

Feeling the bitter, rough wind cut away at his face as his braids tossed around so wildly he was afraid he would lose them.

Feeling the way his face crinkled into a smile so wide that his entire face stung like all hell, even more painful with the harsh cold and violent air they soared through.

But he welcomed the pain. It reminded him that it was real and that he really was on Vah Medoh again, ruling over the skies with his mechanical companion like the king he was.

He ran forward towards the very front of Medoh to prop his foot up on the very edge like a sea captain looking on at the endless sea ahead of him.

But it was the whole sky ahead of him and Vah Medoh then, not a measly sea that eventually became shores. The sky really did go for eternity and it was all his, now that his Divine Beast was back in his control like she had been before, when things made sense.

It was magnificent.

And it was right.

It was the first thing that had happened since he came back to life that was _right._

And while Vah Medoh continued to fly through the air like Revali's own personal, colossal, noble, mechanical steed, he proudly put his hands on his hips and threw his head back to erupt into another hearty laughter. It was so loud that he could hear it clearly over the deafening wind.

And Medoh laughed, too, and Revali knew that she was just as happy as he was. That she also felt that this was the first time in over a century that anything _right_ had ever happened to them.

Something came to mind and the corners of his beak curled upwards into a smirk.

“Well, Medoh,” Revali hollered. “We can't keep all this glory to ourselves now, can we?” Somehow his smirk was able to widen even further as he added, “We absolutely must show this off to Link, don't you think so?”

She let out a high trill as if to say, _“Oh, yes! Absolutely!”_

And Revali cackled, looking out into the horizon that surrounded them with pure glee.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **edit:** i drew a [ picture of the scene ](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/183010394323/alright-i-think-im-ready-to-get-out-of-this) with Meelo and Revali in this chapter WHOOPS


	15. Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali and Link go to Blatchery Plains to take care of the Lynel problem.  
> They both are excited to be with each other again, but nothing goes according to plan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey dudes!!! i'm so glad this is finally done...i just like...took my time because i hate writing fight scenes. BUT I DID IT! AND IT'S HERE! AND IT'S! 23 PAGES LONG! AHAHAH  
> i'm extra stoked because some of the scenes on here are things that i first thought up like.... almost an actual year ago WROH. good to have it off my chest...even though they aren't anything like...super substantial WHOOPS  
> i hope you dudes like it...sorry if i made any mistakes and that the mid-end is so rough!! i kinda rushed to get this out since it took so long to put together
> 
> Lyrics are from Let Me See by GHOST DATA, Celestial Bodies by GHOST DATA, The Chains by Fleetwood Mac, and Feel Like I'm Drowning by Two Feet
> 
> (((i just got into GHOST DATA and i've been like... replaying Celestial Bodies over and over again cuz...it makes me swoon. Also, Two Feet's music is so SEXY so i recommend his music if you haven't heard it yet...)))
> 
> ALSO  
> THANK YOU FOR 5K???? WTFFG??? HELLO??? THANK YOU??
> 
> edit: I.....made my author's note the summary for the chapter,,,,, whoops,,,,

 

 

 

 

R E V A L I

 

_It's not the same to watch the days move forward_

_I can't explain the things I'm feeling for him_

_Let me see_

_Let me see_

_Take the things I've held onto in hopes that you could see_

_These thoughts of you that fill my heart and burns inside of me_

_Let me see_

_Let me see_

  
  
  


“I’m going to leave again today,” Revali said to his pupils over breakfast, which was mushroom skewers made by Meelo for the umpteenth time. “This time it shouldn’t take more than two days, so I’ll be back soon.”

Meelo was about to tear a mushroom off of the skewer to eat, but he stopped to look over at Revali as his crest bobbed up in interest and possibly worry.

Teba, gnawing on a mushroom, asked, “Alright. Where are you off to this time?”

The Champion rested his head in his hand and his elbow dug into his knee. “Blatchery Plain in West Necluda. Going to go take care of some Lynels over there.”

The younger Rito chirped, “Lynels?” His crest feathered up. “Is Link going to go with you again at least?”

Revali smiled. “Yes, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. A couple of Lynels don’t scare me. We’ve handled worse.”

Once he saw Revali nonchalantly brush off the Lynels, Meelo’s crest lowered and he relaxed.

“And so that’s why I believe it won’t take me long at all to take care of. I know what to expect,” Revali said with a shrug.

Meelo and Teba, who were sitting beside each other, shared a glance. The young warrior’s brows furrowed and his elder’s face remained hard.

Ever since Revali went to Lurelin, the two of them seemed significantly more comfortable with each other. It seemed to him that ever since, they gradually got more and more friendly to the point where now they happily sat side by side; Meelo, with no sign of being anxious, and Teba, with no sign of being annoyed out of his wits.

Teba turned his head back towards the Champion, his expression still flat. “You want me to train Meelo while you’re away again?”

Looking back and forth between the two of them, Revali hummed in thought before he brought a finger to the underside of his beak. “You know what? Consider this a small vacation for the both of you. You don’t have to train if you don’t want to. Sleep in, do whatever.” His eyes softened and went to Teba. “You can even use the extra time to be with your son, if you wanted, Teba.”

Meelo lowered his head and smiled to himself, trying to keep his delight at being able to sleep in hidden. And, surprisingly, Teba didn’t try to hold back a smile of his own. It spread out across his beak so far it made his eyes crinkle.

Nodding, Teba simply said, “Alright.”

After ripping off the last remaining mushroom with his beak and nearly swallowing it whole, Revali flicked the skewer onto the ground. “You could try to train him like you did last time.” He snickered. “But then again, you would end up needing Meelo’s help if you wanted to do that since you’re apparently such an awful teacher.”

Teba’s piss eyes opened wide in a surprised offense, but he said nothing, and in a couple of seconds his face fell back into its usual irritated flatness, though this time with brows deeply furrowed.

Meelo on the other hand, lightly giggled and said under his breath, “Yeah, please don’t. Then you would have to wake me up and I wouldn’t get to sleep in…”

Revali laughed at that. “Yes, you wouldn’t want to exploit your subordinate, now would you, Teba?”

The older Rito said nothing and snorted, finishing the last bit of his skewer before setting it on the ground beside him. “Thanks,” he muttered with a huff. “Can we just get back to training now?” 

Smirking, Revali said, “Sure. We should try to get as much as we can in before you both have to go to work.” He stood up and went to go grab his bow, Teba doing the same. He turned around to see Meelo still on the ground, trying to finish his food before he got up. “Meelo, come on, no lollygagging.”

Meelo immediately jumped up with the skewer hanging from his beak. “R-Right! Sorry!” He scrambled to get his bow, which he had carelessly tossed into the corner when he came in for breakfast. 

“Alright, Meelo. You go ahead and practice on what we talked about,” Revali ordered his younger student before turning to his elder one, who was dousing out the bonfire in the center of the room. “Teba, let’s see how well you’re doing with the recent techniques I taught you.” 

Meelo and Teba both nodded before going to their respective places. Revali followed Teba out onto the landing when he caught Vah Medoh perching in her place back at the top of the village in the corner of his eye.

He smiled to himself, keeping his overwhelming excitement for soon flying with Vah Medoh and being with Link again in check by tightly crossing his wings behind him and tightening the edges of his smile.

Soon.

Very soon.

  
  


~~~

 

After training was over and Revali grabbed his things, he flew together with Meelo and Teba to Rito Village. Once the three of them got to the village’s landing, they exchanged their ‘goodbye’s’ and their ‘good lucks’ and then they went their own separate ways.

Revali flew up to the top of the rock column from where the village was built on and made his way over to Vah Medoh with, shamefully, a bit of a skip to his step.

“Wonderful morning, isn’t it, Medoh?” He sang.

Vah Medoh gave an almost groggy trill in reply as she turned her head to him, massive eyes coming to life with a soft, blue glow as if he had just woken her up.

He smiled and flapped his wings to get just enough air to land on his Divine Beast, then started to stride in the direction of where the main terminal was. “Are you ready to go show off, Medoh? To announce to the world that we’re back in business?” Revali said, tossing his bag into a random corner.

She excitedly let out a twitter as if to say,  _ “Yes! Yes! Yes!” _

Revali’s smile curled into a big grin, unable to hold in his excitement any longer. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get a move on, ol’ girl!” He shouted out while holding his arms in the air.

Medoh shrieked eagerly and then readied herself for flight. Fans began to turn and her body began to bend down for her jump off the perch and take to the air.

And then there was the bliss of being in the air with his great companion again. It was so overwhelming that Revali couldn’t help but throw his head back and laugh as he had a couple of days ago when he flew with her for the first time in a century.

Then butterflies started to flutter in his stomach, remembering of what was soon to come.

The thrill of being with Link.

The thrill of being in battle.

More so,  _ the thrill of being in battle with Link. _

The last time they saw each other, Revali  _ felt  _ something. He felt like things were getting better. That they were getting close to each other again and things were starting to fall back into place.

The way Link had smiled at him, the sunset highlighting the perfections of his face.

The way their gaze upon each other lingered like they both were afraid of breaking away.

Perhaps something good would happen again.

No, not perhaps. Something good  _ would  _ happen.

At least, that’s what he thought until he remembered something.

Sidon.

He had forgotten about Sidon.

Link’s fiancé. The beloved prince of the Zora.

Revali gulped.

How could he forget about him? How could he had forgotten that going to Lanayru meant that he was going to be in  _ his  _ territory and that there was no way he wouldn’t have to face  _ him... _ The person that stood in his way from being happy.

But, Revali had faced death before and quite literally  _ died,  _ so it was cowardly of him to be so scared of just seeing a simple-minded Zora nitwit.

That’s right.

He was the king of the skies again. He was Revali, the Rito Champion, who could do anything. He could conquer anything.

Maybe even this.

Yes, even this.

He took in a deep breath.

  
  
  


L I N K

 

_Why don't you_

_Take apart these precious bones_

_Mend my heart, reap what you sow_

_Feel the burn from in this dream_

_We break apart, ripped from the seam_

  
  


Link felt like shit.

Okay, maybe that was a bit of an understatement.

He felt like a load of shit.

A hunk of shit.

Just a big, fat, enormous pile of shit and piss, festering on a hot summer’s day.

That’s what he felt like. Exactly like that.

Knowing that Revali would be there soon, he was stuffing things into his knapsack and simultaneously putting clothes on. All the while, Sidon refused to leave and was in the room with him, staring holes into Link’s back, watching him scramble around the bedroom.

Gods, he was fucking relentless. 

“I wish you didn’t wait to tell me you were leaving,” Sidon muttered behind Link, almost to himself. “Until you had already begun packing.”

Well, to be fair, Link couldn't help it. He had only gotten Revali's reply the night before, and Revali, of course, set the date himself.

And, because he was a big dummy and didn't take the delivery time into consideration, it ended up being the very next day that Revali would, as he said, “pick him up.”

Whatever that meant.

Link scoffed, unfolding a pair of socks and slipping one onto his right foot. “Well, surprise! I’m leaving. Now you can be rid of me for today, just like you wanted.”

Sidon returned the scoff, though it sounded a lot more baffled than Link’s did. “Like I wanted? I never said that I wanted you to leave, Link.”

The Hylian paused to look over his shoulder at Sidon, his mouth flat and eyes half-open in a miffed expression. “You didn’t have to.” He turned back around to put his other sock on.

After letting out a tight breath of air, Sidon started to walk towards Link, whose back was now facing him. “I know that you were feeling a bit restless, so I’m glad that you are leaving, but only for that reason.” His steps came closer, but Link didn’t make an effort to look up at him. “I know things have been extremely tense between us as of late, but I still love you, so I’ll miss you. I’ll always love you and that won’t ever change, whether or not we’re fighting and no matter how bad things are.”

Link gripped onto the boot he was about to slip on. 

He felt like shit.

Sidon was trying  _ so hard  _ to make Link happy, no matter how much he lashed out at him. No matter how viciously he attacked him with his sharp tongue and brutal words. That was how much he loved him.

But here was Link, feeling guilty for his actions but feeling unable to apologize. 

Here was Link, finding himself almost bounding with excitement at the fact that he was going to see Revali very soon.

Finding himself wishing that a pair of sharp, green eyes were looking at him instead of bright, golden ones when Sidon looked at him.

That wasn’t to say that Link didn’t love Sidon, because he did. He still loved him like the moon loved the sun. Like the sea loved the sky. Like the flowers loved the rain.

Sidon was everything, Link was just…

He was just…

“Even if I’m going to be with Revali?” Link choked out without thinking and immediately swung his head to look up at his fiancé, his one and only love, who gazed down at him with eyes that were full of both pain and affection.

Sidon walked closer to Link and crouched so they were more face to face. The corners of his lips curled into a short smile and he said, “Yes, even though you’ll be with Revali.” He went quiet for a moment and his eyes flicked away to the wall as he found the words he wanted to say. “I was being insecure. You can spend time with whoever you want. I shouldn’t stop you. I’m sorry.”

No, not this again.

This wasn’t fair.

Why did everyone always end up apologizing to him?

Link  _ knew  _ he was the one in the wrong. He  _ knew _ that he didn’t deserve an apology.

And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to admit it out loud yet again. To give an apology to those who really needed it.

Link opened his mouth.

_ “No, I’m sorry. I’m the one who’s wrong. I’m always wrong. I’ve been terrible and you don’t deserve that,”  _ Link wanted to say.  _ “I’ve been a stupid asshole. I never meant to hurt you, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t make a mistake. I’m sorry.”  _

But that’s not what he said.

“It’s okay,” he said. His voice quivered, shaking with anger at himself for not being able to say what he really wanted to.“I don’t blame you.”

Sidon’s smile spread further, but the look behind his eyes was so complex and unfamiliar that Link couldn’t read it. “Thank you. Thank you, Link.” He grabbed Link’s hand and gently held it in his.

And Link found himself smiling back, though that weird look certainly did worry him. 

Sidon was about to say something, whatever it was Link wasn’t sure, when they were interrupted with a knock at the door.

Sidon let go of the Link's hand to stand back up. “You may come in.”

With that, the door swung open and a Zora guard stood in the doorway. “Your Highness. Sir Link.” She bowed low to show her respect and once she was up again, her posture was stiff and proper. “I’ve come to tell you that Revali, the Rito Champion, has arrived…” Her eyes went to the side. “...We assume.”

Link pulled on his second boot and Sidon squinted at the guard and said, “You ‘assume’?”

“Vah Medoh, Revali’s Divine Beast, is in the sky above the Domain,” she explained. “He hasn’t made an appearance yet, but naturally we believe that it is him piloting Vah Medoh.”

Sidon and Link threw their heads to look at each other, blinking in astonishment.

Vah Medoh? He was able to reconnect with Vah Medoh?

“Thank you,” the prince said once he turned his attention back to the guard in the doorway. “We’ll be right there.”

She bowed low again and then stepped out of the doorway so that they could leave. 

Link grabbed his bag and the two of them quickly walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway. The guard followed them from behind as they went.

And Link could’ve sworn he saw Sidon’s hands clench into two tight fists as they made their way outside of the castle.

 

~~~

 

Once they were outside, Link shuffled over to one of the columns next to the entrance to stand beside it and Sidon, of course, followed. From there, Link could watch everything for a moment without being immediately noticed.

At the end of the castle stairs, several Zora gathered together to look and point up at the sky, chattering amongst themselves. Link’s eyes followed their fingers to see that, yes, Vah Medoh was really circling around in the sky right above the Domain.

And while he should have been happy that Revali was able to reconnect with Vah Medoh and ride it again, it brought him a certain uneasiness, considering that the only time he remembered seeing it in the air was when he went to Tabantha after reawakening. Back then, it was still under the control of Ganon and was attacking everyone and everything that got close, so it was weird seeing it in the air again, circling around.

Very weird.

Link glanced up at Sidon when the chattering got louder.

Sidon was blankly staring up at Vah Medoh without any sort of excited exclamation as he was one to make. All he did was stare up, eyes fixed on the Divine Beast.

Link's attention was brought back to the crowd when their chattering got louder. A figure was flying down from Vah Medoh and in no time at all, he landed on the ground in the center of the crowd, bringing the wind with him. It whipped around him as he stood up, tossing around the clothes and frills of his Zora audience.

When he fully stood up, he flipped his braids with a smile and nodded to the onlookers, who were excited in their own right to see the Rito Champion there for the second time after his supposed death.  
Those navy feathers that became almost iridescent in the sunlight.

Those piercing, sharp emerald eyes that were always calculating everything around him.

That tall posture and confident stride.

It was him.

He was here.

He was actually here.

To his dismay, Link’s heart lifted into his throat. His legs began to shake under him when he saw Revali making his way towards the entrance of the castle, even though he was almost sure that he hadn’t seen them.

Mipha, thank the gods, called out from the crowd and rushed through it towards Revali to greet him and hug him, stopping him from approaching and buying Link more time. He let out a sigh at relief and his legs started to shake a bit less.

He hadn’t realized just how nervous he was to see him again. How pathetic.

Link looked back up at Sidon to see him blankly staring again, but this time at Revali. When he noticed Link was looking at him, he turned his head and with a smile that was so clearly fake, said, “Well, it looks like it's time for you to go, then.” With that, he started to walk down the stairs towards his sister and the awaiting Rito.

Link found himself basically hiding behind Sidon as he slowly followed a bit far behind, regretting his decision to reach out to Revali. 

This was almost too much for him.

“I'm so happy that you were able to reconnect with Medoh!” Link could hear Mipha cheer as they drew closer. “That's so wonderful!”

“It certainly wasn't easy,” Revali said with a smile as he glanced up at Vah Medoh circling in the sky. “It was hard to wrack up the courage to even get close to her again, after everything that happened.”

Mipha's smile turned into one of sadness as she solemnly looked towards the direction of where Vah Ruta was, to the South. “I understand,” she breathed and said nothing more.

Revali was just starting to say something when Sidon walked up to him and Mipha and interjected. “Hello, Revali! It's great to see you again!” He grinned, but to Link, it was more like he was gritting his teeth.

Revali gave a sort of smirk and said, “It's great to be here. Too bad it's time for me to  _ whisk  _ Link away, or else I would stay longer and chat. But you know how it is, duty calls.” His smirk widened as his sharp green eyes leered up at Sidon.

They stared each other down, the wide grins on their faces somehow making this all so much worse.

And Link was extremely uncomfortable.

Revali was the one that broke the gaze when he looked around Sidon to see Link finally finishing making his way towards them. His hard eyes became soft when he saw Link. “Good morning, Link. Are you ready to go?”

Link stepped forward and gripped onto the strap of his bag very tightly. He gave a nod as a greeting to Mipha before looking back at Revali and saying, “Yes, I'm ready to go.”

Sidon held Link’s hand, making him turn around so he could lean down and kiss him on the lips. His face lingered close to Link’s, his golden eyes gazing at him softly. “Be careful out there.” Once he fully broke away and stood back up, his eyes flicked back to Revali and went back to that hard, hostile look.

Revali tried and failed to hold back a sneer.

They weren't...They weren't low-key fighting over him, were they?

Revali crouched down and motioned for Link to climb onto his back. When Link hesitated, he snorted, “You didn't think I was going to make you ride there again by yourself, did you? I want to show you how great Vah Medoh is when she isn't trying to kill you.” He gave a sort of chuckle and motioned to his back again.

Link's chest tightened as he stepped towards him and his legs began to shake again as he climbed onto his back.

This was definitely a mistake.

“After this, we should make time to catch up, Mipha,” Revali said after turning his attention back to Mipha. “I'm sorry I haven't made the effort since we saw each other last.”

She shook her head. “I understand. I haven't either. Everything has just been so….” She drifted off and looked to the side.

Mipha didn't need to finish, because Revali knew what she met. He nodded and murmured a quiet, “Yes…” Then he crooked his neck to glance up at Link to say, “Let's be on our way.”

But before they could leave, Sidon strode forward to take one of Link's hands and bring his fingers to his lips. “Goodbye, love. Come home safely.” Again, he broke away and immediately looked down at Revali, the gold of his eyes flashing with pride rather than anger as he stepped back from them.

Link nodded feverishly and forced a smile. “I will.”

His face flushed, though not from innocent fluster, but rather from embarrassment, shame, and agitation.

This.

Sucked.

Ass.

“Both of you take care.” Mipha waved with a soft smile.

“Thank you. Goodbye, Mipha,” Revali replied.

“Bye,” Link said so quietly he wasn’t sure if he even said it.

Revali twisted away from the others to prepare himself for flight. “Hold on tight,” he whispered up at Link before summoning his gale and using it to shoot them up into the air towards Medoh.

And while Link probably should have been terrified, seeing as that he was going what felt like a billion miles per hour through the air with the ground get farther and farther away, he wasn't scared at all. It oddly felt very familiar. Like he had done this so many times before in the past with Revali and it was something that always made him happy in the past.

He let out a breath of air that he didn't know he was holding in and then peered down to see Zora's Domain getting smaller and smaller below him.

And he smiled.

  
  


R E V A L I

 

_ Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night _

_ Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies _

_ Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light _

_ And if you don't love me now _

_ You will never love me again _

  
  


Together, Link and Revali sat outside on Vah Medoh, watching the landscapes change below them and feeling the wind in their hair.

Revali wanted to say something to Link, anything, but the words kept getting caught in his throat. So instead, they sat side by side quietly.

And awkwardly.

And-

“If you have Vah Medoh again, couldn’t you just shoot them?” Link blurted so out of the blue that Revali nearly jumped. “With the...laser thing.”

Revali turned to look at him, squinting. “Shoot the Lynels?”

“Yeah. Duh.” Link squinted back, a tiny smirk on his lips.

“Oh, good idea, Link,” the avian snorted. “Two birds, one stone. I can shoot the Lynels and  _ also  _ set the whole field on fire!”

The smirk faded into a frown. “It was a hypothetical question! I wasn’t  _ serious!”  _

“Are you sure?” Revali cooed and leaned towards Link.

_ “Yes! _ I want to fight them!” Link balled his hands into fists and held them out in front of him as if ready to swing at something. “I’ve been itching to fight ever since Lurelin, or do anything, really! I’ve been restless!”

“You really haven’t done anything since then?” Revali cocked an eyebrow. “What have you been doing this entire time then, exactly?”

“Absolute jackshit!”  
“Jackshit, huh? But if you were really itching to smack something around, why didn’t you pick a fight with some monsters or something to get it out of your system?”

Link paused for a second and his expression fell flat. “Because Sidon doesn’t want me to leave. I needed to come up with a specific reason to go.”

Revali blinked.

Was that stupid fish headed freak really that possessive?

He had the gall to look at  _ Revali _ so dirtily when he was some  _ controlling prick? _

He gritted his beak together as he felt his chest begin to burn with anger. “Did he actually say that?! I didn’t realize he was so-”

“No!” Link said and held his hands out to Revali as if to calm him. “He said I could leave anytime I wanted…but that’s code for ‘don’t leave’.”

Link was successful in calming Revali down, but only a bit, so he stopped grinding his beak and crossed his arms instead. “I don’t think that’s code for anything. I think you’re just making an excuse.”

“If it was an excuse, then why would I reach out to you myself?” Link said, brows furrowed.

Then there was only silence, aside from the roaring wind that surrounded them.

“Why, indeed,” Revali murmured and looked back out into the sky.

Link didn’t have anything to say to that, so he did the same.

This didn’t make any sense to Revali.

What were Link’s real intentions? How did he really feel? What did he really think? What if he was with him now only to make Sidon feel jealous or insecure on purpose for his own gain?

He didn’t know. He had no idea where they truly stood once he set aside his unrealistic hopes and his childish daydreams.

Maybe Revali was nothing but a pawn in some trivial, ridiculous fight between lovers.

Maybe he had gotten a little too ahead of himself and he shouldn’t have jumped over the moon before he actually saw Link again after all that time apart; before he was reminded of the fact that Link was different and complicated now, unlike how he was before the Calamity. 

Now, Revali was once again in foreign territory where everything was unpredictable and strange and new...

From the corner of his eye, he looked at him, studying his sapphire eyes and the way they fixed ahead of him when he was deep in thought.

...And yet, so very hauntingly familiar

  
  


~~~

 

Once they reached their destination, the inn and stables by Blatchery Plains, Revali told Vah Medoh to stop and she obeyed. After she did, Link graced Revali with his touched and once again climbed onto his back, and this time Revali tried his very best to keep his feathers from ruffling, no matter how hard his heart pounded in his chest.

A valiant effort, but a failed one. His feathers didn’t listen and ruffled as soon as Link wrapped his arms around his neck.

_ Shit. _

If Link noticed though, he didn’t say anything, and without a word, Revali hopped off the side of the ancient machine and flew down to the stables with him on his back.

As soon as he landed, Link hopped off his back and strode directly to the inn. Wooden shutters were pulled down over the window and doorways, giving the inn and its owners a sense of security. A false one, Revali would say, because if a Lynel really wanted to get in there, some rickety shutters would do little to hold it back.

When he got there, Link knocked on the shutters on one of the doorways, rattling them. “Tasseren? Are you in there?”

There was some rustling inside before a voice said, “Oh, Link!” Two hands came out from under the shutters of the window to fling it open and it crashed loudly, making Link jump a couple of inches in the air. Out from the window popped a head that belonged to a middle-aged Hylian man with dark umber skin, black hair tied into two front braids, and the classic combination of a thick mustache and a goatee, all topped off with a ridiculous hat. “I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you so much for coming…” 

Link smiled and waved his hand. “Of course, I’m happy to-”

_ “Rensa!”  _ The man named Tasseren barked behind him, interrupting Link. “Could you pull up the shutters for Link and…” His dark eyes finally fell onto Revali and they immediately went wide, but he said nothing and simply stared. Revali wasn’t sure if it was because he was in awe because it was the first time he had ever seen a Rito or if he actually knew who it was he was gawking at.

“Champion Revali,” Link finished for him and motioned towards the avian as he walked closer to the stables. “I invited him to help me.”

Suddenly, the shutters to one of the doorways flung open and crashed much louder than the window had. There stood another Hylian man that looked exactly like Tasseren in every way; so much so that Revali even flicked his eyes over to the window to make sure that Tasseren himself hadn’t scrambled over the counter and bolted to the doorway. The only difference was that he had a scabbard with a shortsword attached to his belt. “So the rumors really  _ were  _ true?!” The man assumably named Rensa looked over at the Rito just like how his clone was. “The Champions really were resurrected?!”

Beside himself, the corners of Revali’s beak curled upwards. “Lucky for you, yes. The rumors are true and so now you have the best archer that ever lived at your disposal.”

Link elbowed Revali in the ribs.

“It’s such an honor to have you here,” Tasseren said as he bowed as much as the counter at the window let him.

Rensa did the same. “It really is. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and help us.” He rose and then motioned to the inside of the building. “Please, come in.”

Link and Revali obliged and walked inside. Without the sunlight coming in through all the doors and windows, it was dim, even with the lanterns that hung from the ceiling.

“So, there’s Lynels in the plains? What are they doing here? I thought they never go to West Necluda.” Link said, looking over at Tasseren as he closed the shutters of the windows.

It was Rensa who answered while closing the shutters of the doorway. “They don’t. We don’t know what it was that drew them here specifically, but…”

“...They’re eating the horses,” Tasseren finished for his twin as he opened a gate in the counter to walk through. Doing that, he revealed he also had a shortsword scabbard on his belt identical to his twin’s. So now not only did they have identical faces, outfits, and voice, they also had the very same shortsword, and Revali was willing to bet they had matching incompetence at sword fighting as well.

Hylia, when he studied them more, Revali could see that they even had the very same birthmarks and freckles in the very same place...

Gods, this was so distracting.

_ “Eating the horses?” _ Link asked, bewildered.

The two identical twins nodded in sync and cried, “Yes!” 

Rensa stepped forward towards Link and began to explain. “A week and a half ago, the Lynels came out of nowhere. One day the plains were as peaceful as ever and then the next, there was a pair of Lynels hunting down the horses.”

“And not just the wild horses,” Tasseren continued. “A few nights ago, in the guise of night, they snuck up on the stables and snatched all the horses that were in there!” His eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as if he was reliving the fear he must have felt that night.

“All of them!” Rensa reiterated. “Gone!”

“I didn't know that Lynels ate horses,” Link said to himself under his breath. “I've never heard of that before.”

“We didn't either!” One of the twins exclaimed. “We're so lucky that no one got hurt. They only grabbed the horses and ran straight back into the plains.”

“Poor Beedle, though,” the other keened and rubbed the back of his neck. “He was the one that saw them take the horses and he was out there all by himself.” 

“Poor boy nearly lost his hide. It was almost impossible to console him and it took us forever to understand what he was saying when he tried to tell us there was a Lynel right outside,” the second twin said, shaking his head. “We went out there and they were all gone. Blood was all over the place.”

“We asked everyone at the inn to wait until noon the next day before they left. We shut the shutters and left with them,” the one Revali thought was Tasseren said. “We haven't been back since then.”

“Well, thank you for coming out here today for us,” Link said with a smile. “You didn't have to risk your safety.”

“No, we feel much better now that you're here. I wanted to make sure that you knew what you were getting into. Rensa on the other hand…” Tasseren turned his head to squint at his brother. “...Wanted to stay home.”

Rensa frowned and threw his hands up in the air. “Well, I'm sorry for being afraid of being  _ eaten alive!” _

Tasseren rolled his eyes.

“Either way,” Link started, stuffing a laugh. “We should get this taken care of quickly so you guys don't have to worry anymore. Do you have an idea of where they would be now exactly?”

Tasseren shrugged his shoulders. “I'm not sure, but I think they keep more towards the west when they're not hunting. Close to Fort Hateno.”

“Got it. I’m sure we’ll be able to find them quickly thanks to Revali’s good eye. Right, Revali?” Link snickered and elbowed Revali in the ribs again while looking up at him from the corner of his eye. When he didn’t respond, being so caught up in his own thoughts about the eerie alikeness of the two twins, Link jabbed again and hissed, “Right?”

Revali jerked. “Yes! Right.” He put his hands on his hips. “I’m sure it’ll be a quick, easy job with me being here.” 

Link smirked up at him and then looked back at Tasseren and Ransa. “We’ll come back here once they’re taken care of, so stay here with the shutters down until then.” He turned around on his heels to leave and was about to open the shutters himself when Rensa got to them first to open them for him. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Rensa nodded. “We’ll stick here until you get back.”

Link and Revali walked out of the inn and Rensa put the shutters back down after they left. Revali bent down for Link to get on his back again. “Alright, then. Let’s go find those Lynels and get this over with.”

Link laughed as he climbed onto Revali’s back. “Why? So you can be rid of me?”

“No.” Revali took off and flapped his wings. “So I can maybe spend time with you outside of a life-threatening situation before you have to run back home to your fiancé,” he admitted quietly, half-hoping that Link couldn’t hear him from over the sound of the wind.

“Oh,” Link murmured. “Well then, yeah, let’s get this over with.”

Revali smiled to himself as they started scouring the landscape below them for the Lynels.

 

~~~

  
  


It didn’t take long for the two of them to spot the Lynels.

Just as Tasseren had predicted, they were in the west of Blatchery Plains, sitting a bit a ways from the ruins of Fort Hateno. 

As soon as Link pointed them out, Revali landed nearby in a cluster of trees so they could observe them without being noticed. Link hopped off and immediately went to peak around a tree and Revali did the same.

It wasn’t until then that Revali realized that he had never seen a Lynel eating before and he never bothered to try and imagine what they looked like when they ate. And, to be honest, he wished he never had to find out.

There was two of them, one a Blue-Maned Lynel and the other a White-Maned one, with their legs curled underneath them while they held the horse carcasses, digging their faces into them and devouring. Their mouths were covered with blood and gore, which spilled out onto the grass below them and painted the green red.

Revali’s face crinkled in both disgust and horror, watching the Lynels dig into the horse carcasses like the beasts they were. “That’s...horrific.”

Link, somehow unphased, said in a chipper tone, “I’ll handle the Blue-Maned one if you handle the White-Maned one.”

“Shouldn’t we come up a plan at least?” Revali hissed. “Strategy is important when dealing with Ly-”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I never go into battle with much of a plan.”

Narrowing his eyes at Link, Revali said, “And I’m sure that it’s worked wonders for you,” while cocking an eyebrow.

“Spontaneity is both a blessing and a curse,” Link laughed and began to unsheath his sword. “But if you want to be such a stick in the mud about it, we can sit down and draw out a game plan in the dirt.”

Revali scoffed and readied his bow. “Fine. Let’s try it your way. But when we get ripped apart, I’m blaming you and your reckless behavior.”

_ “‘When?’”  _ Link snorted. “Where’s your confidence, Revali? I thought you were the best Rito warrior that ever lived.”

“I am,” Revali said with a snort.

“Then prove it.” Link leaned forward towards Revali. “You said you were under the weather last time, so now I want to see you at your full potential.”

They both stared at each other and smirked before Revali leaned away to say, “Fine.”

Without looking away, Link reached behind him to grab a rock and then threw it in the direction of the Lynels who were still feasting on their equine meal. They lifted their heads, mouths dripping with blood, and glowered the patch of trees Revali and Link were hiding in.

Hylia, was he  _ insane?! _

“What are you doing?!” Revali spat. “We could have surprised them and gotten the upper hand!”

“Spon.Tan. Eity,” Link reiterated with a grin and then hopped from out behind the tree to reveal himself to the Lynels. “Remember, the blue one is mine!” He yelled behind him as he rushed towards the Blue-Maned Lynel, which dropped the corpse of a horse as it took out its weapon; a crusher.

Revali cursed under his breath and took to the air to begin his fight with the White-Maned Lynel like Link wanted.

This was just another reminder of how much Link had changed.

How now he was deranged dumbass.

Throwing rocks at Lynels.

Gods.

_ Before,  _ Link wasn’t  _ stupid.  _ Sure, he would make mistakes now and again, but he won’t spout nonsense about being spontaneous and would instead come up with a plan and try to stick to it.

_ Before,  _ he was a force of nature to be reckoned with, slaying anything that got in his way without any issue.

_ Before,  _ Link didn’t need help and someone to watch over him like Revali had to now since Link was acting like such a brainless oaf.

Well, except that one time with the Hinox when he was trying to save that dog.

And that other time with the Lynel-

Oh.

Oh, no.

The Lynel.

Revali was so stupid! How could he have forgotten that fight with the Lynel? All those years ago when he had to save Link’s hide after he went unconscious?

Readying an arrow to shoot at the White-Maned Lynel, he prayed to the heavens that all this wouldn’t trigger Link’s memory of that fight from back then.

But after Revali shot the arrow right into his Lynel’s forehead, he looked over just in time to see it happen.

The blue Lynel was charging at Link, who was preparing to land a blow on it as soon as it reached him.

But then his eyes glazed over, and he stopped running to stand completely still as the beast was still continuing to stampede towards him.

_ Fuck! _

Immediately, Revali whipped around away from his opponent and shot through the air to grab Link and get him out of there. But soon after he got him, there was a flash and an intense pain shot up his wing. Electricity coursed through him as he started to fall.

He was hit.

One of the Lynels shot a shock arrow at him as he tried to rescue Link.

And once he finally met the ground, they rolled and tumbled through the dirt, and, luckily, skidded back into the dense line of trees they were hiding in before.

Revali sat up to check on Link below him and make sure that he was fine.

He was scraped up and would probably bruise later, but he would be fine.

The trees were definitely dense enough and close enough together that the Lynels wouldn’t be able to get to him unless they really really tried. Knowing this, Revali dragged him further into the trees to leave him there temporarily until he was able to kill off those savage bastards or until Link woke back up.

At first, Revali thought this would be a simple enough task, defeating those two Lynels, but that was before he actually tried to fly.

He barely flapped his wings once before a sharp pain exploded in his arm that was so unbearable that he knew it was going to be impossible to fly.

The pain was too much.

_ Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit… _

Revali gripped onto his bow and fumbled around in his quiver to count how arrows he had as he dashed through the trees to draw the Lynels’ attention away from Link.

About three dozen.

That was more than enough.

But...fuck! He only had regular arrows. He left his bomb and shock ones in his bag on Vah Medoh like an  _ idiot! _

He swore that his century-long imprisonment had made him stupider rather than wiser.

But he would make do with what he had and make every arrow count.

Trying to shake it off, Revali continued running in between the trees until he was back out on the field, now by the ruins of Fort Hateno.

When he popped out from the woods, he immediately twisted around on his heels towards the Lynels, who were throwing their heads around looking for him. He raised his bow, ignoring the sting from the wound in his arm, and shot an arrow at the closest Lynel. “Hey! I can smell you from here, you big crock of shit!”

The Blue-Maned Lynel flipped around to look at the Rito, staring him down as it ripped the arrow he shot out of its chest. After it threw the arrow to the ground, it leaned forward and dug its fingers into the grass to get ready to dash through the plain towards Revali.

And Revali whipped around and ran like hell towards the old fort wall, kicking dirt behind him as he ran the fastest he had ever run before. He had just reached the wall when the Lynel got to his heels, ready to snatch him off his feet and rip into him.

But, just before it could, Revali beat his wings once, then fought through the pain to beat them a second time, gaining enough air to land on the top of the wall.

The Lynel, unable to stop quick enough, crashed into the ruin walls, its speed and strength working against it. Fort Hateno's stone wall crumbled and collapsed right on top of the ugly beast. For a moment, its legs buckled and it fell under the weight of all the rubble and Revali couldn't help but laugh.

It started to step back, stumbling around like a drunkard. While it shook its head to get a hold of itself, Revali jumped off of the edge of the wall onto its back. He dug his talons into its back and grabbed onto its thick mane to keep himself steady as he used his other set of talons to tear into the Lynel's throat. “Aw, did you hurt your head? Don't worry. I'll make it all better!”

However, he didn't get far into its throat before he caught sight of the White-Maned Lynel leaping towards him with its clawed hand outstretched.

Revali dodged its advance and drew his bow to shoot an arrow between the eyes to stun it, but the Blue-Maned Lynel bucked right when he was letting go of the arrow so it shot just overhead of his target. The white Lynel took the opportunity to snatch Revali up by the neck to rip him off of its comrade, squeezing him until he was sure he was going to pop. Then it threw Revali, flinging him through the air.

Revali went sprawling until he eventually met the ground once more. He tumbled violently through the dirt, tasting it on his tongue before he finally landed hard on his back. There was a snap once he landed and a hard pain erupted in his side. Fighting through it, he managed to sit up enough to look below him to see what he had landed on.

His bow.

He landed.

On.

His.

Bow.

And it broke.

His fucking bow broke in half.

He really  _ had  _ gotten stupider! And slower! And weaker!

That morning he sincerely thought that he was the king of the skies again, but all he was was the king of the  _ shitheads! _

What the hell was he going to do now?! He couldn’t fly...Couldn’t shoot…

Grunting in pain, Revali sat up further from his place in the grass, looking up to see the Lynels, ready to avoid any incoming attack.

He saw the Blue-maned Lynel in the distance, howling in pain as it held its throat while blood seeped between its fingers. Revali hadn’t gotten deep enough to kill it swiftly, but he did hurt it enough that it would be immobilized for now.

He ripped the two severed pieces of the bow out from underneath him and stared at them for a moment, noticing how the broken end of the two pieces were jagged and sharp.

Maybe he did have a chance at this. He could still do something and get Link out of here safely. He just had to be careful and not make another dumb mistake again.

The White-Maned Lynel readied another one of its shock arrows, aiming it where Revali was laying. The ave scrambled back and used his messed up wings to give him enough distance so that he barely got out of the shock range by the time it landed.

Once he did, he finally got into his feet, dual wielding the two pieces of broken bow, and took a second to take in a deep breath before charging at the two Lynels.

The White-Maned Lynel noticed him coming and started to bound towards him, raising its crusher to swing at Revali once it got to him. But as soon as it met him, Revali dodge rolled to avoid its attack, then ran and slid underneath the Lynel. As he did, he raised one half of the bow, cutting into the exposed stomach with the jagged side as he slid. It didn’t go far enough in for it to be fatal, but it was enough for crimson to gush out and cover Revali’s arms.

Instantly, the Lynel staggered around uselessly on its hooves and cried out in agony, giving Revali the opening to dash towards the other Lynel and take it out while they both were frozen in pain.

When he got to the Blue-Maned Lynel, which was still trying to get ahold of itself as blood continued to gush from its neck, the Lynel tried to reach out and grab at him with both hands. But its pain made it slow so it missed Revali and gave him the chance to stab one half of the splintered bow into its neck now that its hands weren’t shielding it.

Revali used all of his strength to push the wood into its throat as far as he could while red spewed everywhere. The Lynel staggered around again, choking helplessly on its blood until its legs buckled and it collapsed onto the ground below it.

Revali was about to rip the bow half out of its neck, but he heard the White-Maned Lynel roar behind him, so instead he left it behind and made a break back to the trees to get to Link. He didn’t know exactly what he was going to do once he got there, but he had to figure it out so he could grab Link and get him out of there until they could somehow regroup and finish off the last stupid Lynel.

His legs carried him as fast as they could, but not fast enough. He heard the remaining Lynel bolting towards him from behind, causing the ground to tremor. Glancing over his shoulder, Revali saw it raise its crusher at him again, its face dark with fury and bloodthirst. 

Just as the crusher was about to connect with his body and tear him a new one, Revali again used his useless wings to carry him high enough in the air to avoid the strike. Once he fell and met the dirt, he rolled to soften the landing, got onto his feet, and twisted around to face the Lynel. 

Revali gripped onto the last half of his bow tightly, breathing hard as the Lynel’s blood that covered his face and wings dripped off his feathers and onto the ground below him. And despite feeling like a mouse cornered by a cat, his sharp, emerald eyes glowered up at the Lynel intensely. The beast stared down at him in the same way, its beady red eyes flashing with unadulterated hatred and wrath. 

He flicked his eyes over to see Link still in the trees, laying in the grass with glassy eyes wide open.

It wasn’t ideal that he still wasn’t awake, but at least he was safe while Revali figured out what to do.

That was when the Lynel began to bend down and open its mouth. Its throat began to glow a bright orange, telling Revali it was about to spit fire. But he didn’t budge because he was ready to jump out of the way and, if he was fast enough, attack.

But then...at the last second, it threw its head towards the cluster of trees, blasting fire in Link’s direction.

Being a dry summer in Necluda, the trees couldn’t resist the blaze, so the fire surrounded the trees it had hit and then spread from one to another by the interlacing canopies.

Oh, Gods.

“Link!” Revali cried and sprinted into the trees, avoiding the spreading flames to reach Link. Thankfully, he was able to swerve around the trees catching on fire to pick Link’s comatose body up off the ground and carry him away from the woods in his arms.

Now that their only cover was gone, they were totally exposed and there was nowhere Revali could leave Link where he could be safe.

If only his  _ fucking  _ wings could fly! If only his _ fat ass  _ hadn’t broken the damn bow!

What was he supposed to do now?! He could run, but the Lynel was so much faster than he was…

Fort Hateno’s entrance came into view, and Revali had set his eyes on it.

If he could just reach that in time, maybe they had a chance. Maybe he could still save Link, despite everything…

Maybe-

But, no.

Revali just had to trip on his own two feet as he dashed towards their one saving grace. Link’s limp body fell out of his arms as he stumbled and crashed into the ground.

_ “Fuck!”  _

Immediately, Revali began to crawl through the grass towards Link, weakly holding onto the hope that they could still make it. Even when the sound of fastly approaching hooves was clamoring behind him.

“No, no, no!” Revali shrilly cried, hot tears beginning to sting the corners of his eyes. “I can't lose you again!”

And, being unable to fight or flee any longer, Revali wrapped himself around the comatose Link to at least try and shield him from the incoming Lynel. Once it got here, it would surely crush his bones and squeeze all the blood out of him. Regardless, Revali braced himself for the worst.

He had to protect him.

If he was going to die, at least he was going to die protecting Link.

But when the sound of hooves of dirt drew nearer and nearer, something happened. 

“Revali…” Link weakly uttered, making Revali gasp and look down.

Link’s eyes were half-open, and they were no longer glazed over but were now the brightest blue Revali had ever seen. They were blankly looking behind Revali at the monster that was coming at them at full speed, ready to wipe them off the face of Hyrule.

“Y-Yes?” Revali wavered, prepared to die a second time in a matter of seconds.

Then, swiftly, Link pulled out his sword and thrust it through the opening between Revali’s arm and chest, stabbing the Lynel that had been mere milliseconds away from swinging its crusher and smiting them. With its velocity being used against it, the sword was plunged so deep into its chest that it pierced its heart. Blood sprayed from the wound and trickled down the blade, dripping onto Revali’s leg and Link’s hand.

The beast took its final breath and fell to the ground, the sword still stuck in its chest. It shook the earth beneath it as it crumpled in a heap before going completely and utterly still.

Link made no reaction to what just happened, but simply fixated his sapphire eyes on Revali to say, “I’m going to ask you this again…” He pushed Revali’s arms off of him and slowly stood up, staring down at him with furrowed brows. ”...And I don’t want you to fucking lie like last time.”

Revali, out of breath from this whole ordeal, rasped for air. He stumbled onto his feet to face Link and gripped onto his arm after his movement sent a sharp pain up his wing from the shock arrow wound. “Yes?” He said again.

Link shifted his feet into a position that was not too different from a battle stance, and his face darkened. After a tense few seconds of silence, with a low voice, he asked, “What were we before the Calamity?” 

That question again.

Revali could only stare at him with wide eyes. His heartbeat and breathing seemed to stop, his entire body only focusing on Link at that moment.

He couldn’t say anything.

Anger flashed in Link’s blue eyes as he stomped towards the avian and curled his hands into two tight fists. “Revali, what were we?!” He roared.

Silently, Revali turned his head away and looked down at the grass.

“Revali!”

“We were friends,” the Rito choked out. “Only friends.”

Lumbering even closer to Revali, Link shouted, “I  _ said  _ don’t fucking lie to me!”

That wasn’t a lie.

They had been nothing.

They  _ were  _ nothing.

What was the point on acting like they weren’t if Link had someone to go home to?

Someone to laugh and smile with him?  
Someone to lay in bed with him?

Someone to care for him?

Someone who already loved him?

Revali gritted his beak then yelled, “You think that’s a lie?! What do you want me to say?!” It was his turn to step towards Link and make him stagger backward. “That we were enemies?! Or that we were lovers- two  _ stupid  _ idiots hopelessly in love with each other?!” He huffed and found himself clenching his own fists, despite the pain shooting up his injured arm. “Well, sad to say that we were neither!” He leaned down, right into Link’s face to add, “We were  _ nothing!” _

And Link’s eyes looked so sad.

So heartbroken.

So, so blue.

Revali couldn’t look at him anymore and turned away again. “All we were and all we’ve ever been is friends. Just...” he whispered and closed his eyes. “...Just friends. Nothing more, nothing less.”

They were both quiet until Link opened his mouth to quietly stutter, “Th-Then...Then why?”

“Why what?!”

“Then why did you shield me like that?!” Link’s forehead puckered as he took another step forward. “You almost got killed!"

“Because I care about you!” Revali snapped, throwing out his arms. “Isn't that enough?”

Link’s eyes fell to the ground and he took in a shaky breath. His voice became brittle, unlike the hardness it had before. “Revali. Revali, I  _ saw. _ I saw the way you looked at me after you saved me from the Lynel back then.”

So, he really did get that memory back...

“I saw how you looked like your world was crumbling around you when you thought I was really really hurt.” Link’s eyes started to well up. “I felt you hug me. I heard you say 'I don't know what I would do if I lost you.'” He threw his head up to glare at Revali, his eyes becoming glossier and glossier. “And I see you now. Risking your life just to make sure I was safe. Throwing yourself over me at a last attempt at protecting me! I know!” He was yelling now again and jabbing his pointer finger into his chest. “I know!”

“What are you trying to say?” Revali trembled, his face tight to hold in dry sobs. “We were best friends, and best friends look out for each other.”

“Are you sure, Revali?” Link cocked his head and squinted at him accusingly. “Was that it? Was that all there ever was?”

“Yes,” Revali hissed. “Fate had its own cruel methods of making sure it stayed that way.”

Again, they stared at each other for a long time with matching glossy eyes. Link's eyes began to overflow with teardrops that streamed down his face while Revali did everything he could to not let his own tears break free.

Why was  _ he  _ crying?

If anyone should be crying, it should be Revali.

“Wh-What does that even mean?” Link whimpered, snot oozing from his nostrils and mixing with his tears as he tried to rub both of them away. “What do you mean by that?”

Revali said nothing, closed his eyes, and turned away.

“Please, Revali. I want to understand.” Link’s whimpers raised to loud sobs. He jumped forward towards Revali to grab onto his wings and shake him desperately. His sapphire eyes were massive, glistening like two overflowing pools of water that bore into the avian’s soul. “I hate being left in the dark! I hate being left to figure everything out on my own! Please, help me understand.”

“I...I…”

Face wet with mucus and tears, Link cried, “You what?! You what?!” as his hands gripped onto him tighter, his fingers digging into Revali’s wings so hard that it hurt. “What do you mean?!”

Revali opened his beak to speak, but he was so overwhelmed with all the things that he wanted to say that he was left silent.

_ I love you. _

_ I miss you. _

_ I ache for you. _

_ I wish that things had been different. _

_ I wish that we were written in the stars. _

_ I wish that I hadn’t been ripped away from you. _

_ I wish you would look at me with those beautiful eyes of yours like you used to one last time. _

_ Just one last time. _

And after taking a few shakey breaths, Revali finally spoke.

“It means that some things are better left forgotten.”

All at once, all the emotion of Link’s face suddenly washed away.

A second ago, it was full of so much raw emotion that was so painful to look at, but in an instant, it was all gone and all there was was a blank, pale face staring up at Revali with hollow eyes.

Without looking away from the ave, Link let go of him, releasing him. Then he bit his lip as his eyes flicked around Revali’s face like he was deciding whether or not to do something.

Whatever it was that he was thinking of doing, he must have decided against it because his head limply fell towards the ground as he walked around Revali to take his sword out of the corpse of the Lynel behind him.

“I'm going back to the stables to tell them the job is done. You can go back home, Revali,” Link murmured. Once he had his sword, he sheathed it, wiped his eyes, and started to walk in the direction of the stables.

“Don't you want me to take you back to Lanayru?” Revali asked, his voice close to breaking.

“No,” Link snarled. “I'll stay the night at the inn and walk there in the morning.”

“What? You can't walk all that way. Let me-”

“No! Just go home, Revali,” Link yelled. “Go home.”

“But-”

“And get that checked out.” Link pointed at Revali's injured wing. “Wouldn't want that to get infected,” he said, his voice now weak and quiet.

And he turned around.

And he left.

Just like that.

And Revali watched him for a moment, walking through the fields away from him.

And it hurt.

He didn't understand.

He didn't understand what it was that Link could have been thinking and feeling. Why he cried.

He didn't understand why everything had to fall apart. Why his hopes continued to be dashed every time he had his heart set on something.

He had his heart set on this. On spending time with Link again and seeing his smile and his sapphire eyes, the last familiar things that were left.

But, no.

He made a mistake, honestly believing that things could go back to the way they were. 

After his shaky, unstable breaths that threatened tears slowed and settled, Revali called Medoh down to the plains and told her to land so he could board without having to fly.

And he did what Link said.

He went home.

Battered, bruised, covered in blood and heavy-hearted.

  
  
  


S I D O N

 

_ You keep dreaming and dark scheming _

_ Yeah, you do _

_ You're a poison and I know that is the truth _

_ I feel like I'm drowning _

_ You're holding me down and _

_ Holding me down _

_ You're killing me slow _

_ So slow, oh no _

  
  


He was underwater.

No, not water.

It was so much thicker than water.

It hurt so much to breathe. 

The thick substance he was trapped in seeped into his gills and whenever he tried to open his mouth to breathe, it filled his mouth and oozed down into his lungs. He tried to swim, but he found it impossible to. His arms and legs weren’t following through with what he told them to do and it felt like he was struggling to swim in a thick muck.

The little air he had managed to get was taken from him when a hand came out from the dark murkiness ahead of him to wrap its fingers around his throat.

No, not a hand.

A wing.

And while Sidon tried his best to fight against the person that gripped their hand around his neck, he saw two unnaturally bright, glowing green eyes appear from the darkness through his blurred vision. 

And then out came a familiar face, smiling at him malevolently while he squeezed the life out of the Zora.

Watching Sidon try to break free from the grip he easily should have broke, Revali’s already wide smile spread further. The corner of his grin curled up so far that it contorted his face in a nightmarish way. He let out a low, bloodcurdling chuckle as his victim reached out for him in desperation.

Hylia, why was he so strong?

Sidon should have been able to tear himself free to beat the ugly cad, but here he was, muck filling his gills as he was unable to fight against his powerful grip.

“You really  _ are  _ an idiot,” Revali said, his sinister voice echoing around them in the deep. “Thinking that you honestly had a chance.”

Sidon’s hands tried to grab Revali’s wrist. He dug his long, sharp fingernails into him but he still didn’t budge at all.

“Thinking that he could ever  _ actually  _ love you. That he belonged to you.” 

Baring his teeth, Sidon tried to give the awful Rito a fiery reply, but nothing came out and only muck went in.

“Very stupid, Sidon.” Revali’s grip tightened and Sidon felt veins pop. “Very, very stupid.”

He wanted to shout, “He does love me,” but he couldn’t.

“But don’t worry,” the avian said as his hideous grin almost softened. “You’ll figure it out. You’ll see.” 

Sidon felt himself fading, only seeing two hateful, emerald eyes staring at him.

A vile laugh echoed in his mind.

“Oh, you’ll see.”

  
  


And then he woke up.

Breathless. Just as breathless as he was in his dream, but now cold air filled his lungs instead of that terrible muck.

Afraid and upset from his nightmare, he frantically reached out to grab Link for comfort but was met with only an empty space beside him.

He was alone.

And cold.

So cold.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last scene is like....unnecessary but it's something that has been plaguing my mind for like ten months so HEYO  
> [i. did a sketch of it because i guess now i'm gonna start doodling stuff for every chapter RUH ROH ](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/183623226783/wroh-i-doodled-something-for-the-newest-chapter-of)
> 
>  
> 
> [i also drew one for the last chapter...if u didnt see the edit i made on it with the link for it...hoohoo](http://zzariyo.tumblr.com/post/183010394323/alright-i-think-im-ready-to-get-out-of-this)


	16. Only Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revali returns home and Teba forces him to go see Unathi, the village's doctor.  
> Link also returns home and wants something from Sidon.  
> Another long forgotten memory comes back to Link in his sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEWWO HEWWO HEWWO  
> i m....terribly awfully sorry that this update took SO SO LONG!! i really wanted to finish it before i had to leave to go to sakuracon, but i ended up having to scramble to finish a cosplay before that so i wasn't able to finish it >____>;;;; so i'm really sorry to make u wait gaaaah  
> either way....here it is...grhgjfgjfgh...idk what happened but most of the stuff that happens in here r things that i didnt originally plan ??????????? SO UM?
> 
> ALSO! A new character shows up for like three entire seconds. Here's a [wee pic of Mulure. ](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/457392355155116053/559524272566173706/mulure.png) I actually made her the same time that I made Meelo forever ago, but I just never found a good place to put her...until now that is!
> 
> lyrics/poems used are Not A Lover's Forever by S.L Gray, idfc by blackbear, Anxiety by [mirrorgames ](https://mirrorgames.tumblr.com/), and an unnamed poem by Ellen Everett.  
> getting more into poetry lately...
> 
>  
> 
>  **TW for coercive sex and sibling abuse !!!** idk if these warnings are needed but like...just to make sure...
> 
> pls excuse any mistakes...it is almost 5 am and i just want this OUT ! GAH!

 

 

 

 

R E V A L I

 

_ I won’t ever _

_ forget you and _

_ maybe that is _

_ the only forever _

_ the two of us _

_ together were ever _

_ meant to have _

  
  


Revali instructed Vah Medoh to land on the cliffs right next to the Flight Range. The earth quaked under her weight and the edge of the cliff where she perched herself crumbled and fell into the waters below.

He stumbled out of the entrance, still in disarray from what happened even after the long ride back home. The vicious, chilling night air of Tabantha immediately whipped around his braids once he took a step outside and the snow that was carried through the wind stuck to his clothes and clung to his eyelashes.

He lifted his wing, hoping that it felt fine enough so he could fly down to the hut so he could just gods damn lay down already, but a horribly uncomfortable tingle coursed through his wing when he tested it out. With a low groan, he jumped off of Medoh and painfully flapped his wings at the last moment to catch himself before crashing to the ground. The snow crunched underneath him when he landed and he began to make his way to the Flight Range’s hut.

But it wasn’t long before Teba suddenly landed in front of him out of nowhere with a concerned expression twisted his face.

“Hylia almighty, what in the fuck happened to you? You're covered in blood! Are you alright?!” 

“Let’s just say that the fight with the Lynels went awry,” Revali said with a low, raspy laugh. “I’m fine though, don’t worry. I just really need to lay down and perhaps sleep forever.” He started to walk through the snow again, past Teba. “Sorry for frightening you.”

Teba stepped in front of Revali to stop him in his tracks. “Hold on, now. You should know as well as anybody that wounds as serious as that-” He pointed towards the massive shock burn on Revali’s wing. “-Should not be left unchecked. You need to see Unathi. I’ll take you to her hut.”

Oh, right. Unathi. Revali almost forgot about her.

She was the doctor that was there when he first woke up and was the one that scolded him for trying to show off his Gale to put Teba in his place those few months ago.

Gods, so much had changed since then.

“It’s fine, Teba. It’s not that bad, only a shock arrow. I just want to sleep, thank you,” Revali flatly said and then continued walking.

“Are you kidding me?! Have you even looked at it? It’s a second-degree burn if not third-degree,” Teba chided, his voice stern. 

Revali threw his head back and groaned. “I’ll get it checked out in the morning. But right now, I’m  _ tired!”  _

“You could lose your wing if you don’t get it treated right away.”

Revali twisted to squint up at Teba, still striding through the snow.  _ “Exhausted!” _

“No wing means no flying.”

_ “Positively bushed!” _

“Meelo would cry. Do you wanna make him cry?”

Revali swerved around to face Teba and snap, “Gods,  _ fine!  _ If you take me to see her, would you let me sleep?”

Teba shrugged and a small smirk crinkled his beak. “Probably.”

“Then let’s just get this over with,” Revali said with a groan and motioned for the other to hurry it up.

With the remnants of a smirk still on his face, Teba crouched down into the snow for Revali to climb up and ride on another Rito’s back for the first time since he was a fledgling. 

“This is so demeaning,” Revali muttered as Teba took off into the air towards Rito Village.

“You’ll get over it. I would much rather you feel humiliated than getting a wing amputated.”

“Well, I beg to differ.”

Teba jokingly rolled his eyes, the edges of his beak still curved into a hidden smile.

And they said nothing else until they got to the village, against Revali’s wishes.

 

~~~

 

“You were right, Teba. The arrow grazed but left a very nasty burn,” Unathi muttered, holding up Revali’s wing to her face. She adjusted her ridiculously large glasses and looked at Revali. “And you say you fought two Lynels after you were shot?”

Revali’s beak tightened in pain. The adrenaline that was surging through him during the fight finally started to drift away, gradually granting him full access to the unbearable pain that raged throughout his whole body. Everything hurt.

He sat at the edge of the cot in the doctor’s hut, twisting his legs around each other as a way to try and hold in the pain.

“Yes,” he hissed through a clenched beak. “Since I couldn’t fly away, I had to stand my ground.” He forced a small triumphant smile, expecting that even she would be impressed by his feat.

She was not.

Unathi only stared at him with a face completely void of expression for an uncomfortable second before dropping his wing and throwing her head behind her to look at Teba. “Alright, Teba. You can leave now.”

Teba blinked at her. “Hm?”

She scoffed and swiveled around in her chair, a stool with wheels, to face him. “As a precaution, I’m going to have him stay the night here so I can be sure he’s fine. You can go back now and get some sleep.” She squinted over at Revali before quietly adding, “Although, he might end up spending multiple nights here if he ends up acting reckless before he heals again.”

Revali squinted back at her, remembering how angry she was when he showed off his Gale when he was still recovering.

Teba must not have heard that last part, because he simply nodded. “Right. Thanks, Unathi.” Looking back at his mentor, he said, “I’ll stop by in the morning if that’s fine.”

“Yes, that’s fine,” Revali replied. “I’ll see you then. Goodnight, Teba.”

“Goodnight.” 

And with that, Teba turned around and left, leaving Revali alone with Unathi.

Now, this was  _ certainly  _ going to be fun.

Unathi pushed her feet off the cot to roll her stool across the ground and towards the cupboard behind her. While opening one of the doors and shuffling around inside of it, she said behind her, “You know, ‘Revali the Rito Champion’...” Her tone was mocking as she said his title. “...I thought you would have been able to handle two Lynels without a scratch, considering that your talents are apparently so legendary.”

Revali snorted before saying, “I suppose I’m just getting too old.” 

Unathi made her statement by turning her stool around to stare at him with a flat expression and with the intimidating eyes of a humorless thirty-some-year-old woman. 

“Because I  _ am  _ technically one hundred and twenty-one,” Revali explained a bit under his breath.

Her hard look was still fixed on her face as she said, “Yes, maybe if you actually  _ were  _ Revali.” She then turned back around to search through the cupboard.

He leaned forward in his seat, the fact that he was offended spreading out across his entire face. “You mean to tell me you still don’t believe me? After seeing my Gale? Something that no one else in the history of Hyrule was ever able to do?”

After she found what she was looking for, some gauze, herbs and a couple of tools, she retorted, “I believe in science. Not absurd fairytale nonsense.”

“You aren’t saying that you don’t believe that the Calamity ever happened and that the Champions ever existed, are you?” Revali bit, glaring at Unathi as she rolled her way back over to him and tossed the items she grabbed beside him on the cot.

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m not stupid. There’s blatant proof of that.” Without warning, she grabbed his wing and held it up, twisting it around to view the awful burn from different angles. Adjusting her glasses again, she leaned her face closer to the wound and then flatly said, “Revali the Rito Champion lived and then died the day the Calamity began? Fact. Revali the Rito Champion was brought back to life by Hylia herself a hundred and one years later out of nowhere? Very Unlikely. But if you insist that you are really him, I won’t stop you. You’re just making a complete fool of yourself.”

“Listen, you-”

“Hold on, tell me if this hurts,” Unathi interrupted before jabbing her finger into Revali’s burn.

“Wh-?!” He jumped, surprised at her sudden touch, but was shocked to feel no pain. His anger drifted away as he peered down, unblinking, at his wing. “No, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Unathi took her finger off him and then clicked her beak. “Interesting,” she muttered to herself. “Seems like the nerves are totally damaged, but it isn’t deep enough to be third-degree…Lucky for you.”

_ “Lucky for me?!”  _ Revali snapped.

“Oh, calm down. You don’t want to feel this, I promise you.” She turned away to grab her stethoscope and put the eartips in her ears. “I’m going to check your vitals to make sure the shock didn't throw everything off,” Unathi said as she brought the metal end of the stethoscope to Revali's chest. “Deep breath, if you please.”

Revali obliged, but with an annoyed look crinkling his face. It crinkled much deeper when he felt an intense explosion of pain in his chest. It was so bad that he hacked, which only brought more pain.

Without a word, Unathi poked his ribs. Another explosion of pain erupted from where she touched him and he yelped and whapped her hand away. “Gods! Stop!”  
Unphased, Unathi brought her finger under her chin. “Your breathing sounded fine up until you started squawking. I think you broke a rib. Maybe two. Maybe four.”

“You  _ think?!” _

“Hush.” She grabbed his arm and pressed two fingers against the inside of his elbow, searching for his pulse. “I can just barely feel your pulse. It’s slower than normal, too...How is your head?”

“I...I feel very light-headed. A bit dizzy.”

Unathi let him go. “Your blood pressure is low, sounds like, which is common after an electric shock like that. It’s not dangerously low, so if you take good care of yourself, then you should go back to normal soon enough.”

Revali rubbed at his elbow, frowning to himself at the fact that it felt like Unathi pressed awfully hard on him just to feel his pulse.

What the hell kind of doctor was she anyway?

“Well,” Unathi said as an uncharacteristic smile spread up her beak while she scribbled notes on a paper at her desk. “I may find it hard to believe that you're our long dead Champion, but I  _ do  _ have to say that you're definitely no ordinary Rito. Our bodies are more fragile than the other Hyrulian races so that arrow should have scrambled your insides.” Her eyes lifted up to meet Revali's and she went on. “Yet, you weren't affected that much, aside from that nasty burn. Whoever you are, you're very special. Like I said, I'm not the religious or spiritual type, but it feels like  _ something  _ is watching over you.”

“Why, thank you.” The edges of Revali's beak curled up into a smirk. “Does that mean I can go home now?”

Unathi's smile disappeared and her brows drew together. “No.” She rolled back over to grab a jar full of herbs and opened it to take a small handful worth out. After grabbing Revali's wounded wing and turning it so his burn faced up, she sprinkled the herbs onto it and wrapped it up in gauze. “This should help bring the swelling down. Oh! And…”

Revali watched her as she pushed away from the cot to slide for the cupboard again and threw the door open to nab a small container. Then she went over to her desk to pour water out of a pitcher and into a cup before making her way back to Revali. She held out the cup and he took it. He looked down at the cup in his hands before she held out a pill she dumped out of the container. “Take this. For the pain.”

“I don't need that,” he scoffed.

“Don't be difficult. You'll be able to go to sleep easier if you take it,” she ordered with a monotone voice and shoved the pill into his free hand. “So, take it.”

Squinting, Revali obeyed and threw the pill into his mouth and took a swig of water to wash it down.

Unathi was probably right. It would be easier to sleep without the pain holding him back.

And, after everything that had happened that day, sleep was what he wanted the most.

And water.

Fuck, he was so thirsty. How did he not realize how dry his throat was?

“Thanks,” Revali said after chugging down all the water and handed the glass back to Unathi.

She nodded thoughtfully and then rolled back over to her desk. “Yeah. Anyway, go to sleep. It's late and you need it. And let me know if you need anything else.”

Revali immediately threw himself onto the cot to lay down on his back, instantly regretting it when a sharp pain sprung from his ribcage. 

The cot was anything but comfortable, but after the day he had, it felt like a bed fit for a king.

“Aren't you going to sleep?” He asked as he glanced over to see Unathi hunched over her desk and flipping through a notebook with only a single candle granting her the light she needed to read and write.

“No, too much to do,” she replied without looking over at him. “But don't worry about me. Go to sleep already. And be sure to wash yourself up as soon as you wake up. You reak and all the blood is making your feathers crusty. I would help get you cleaned up, but frankly, it’s a hassle and I don’t feel like it.”

_ “Wow.  _ You’re  _ such  _ an amazing doctor.”

“Sure am. Now shut up and get some sleep, you Champion fraud.”

Revali, too tired to come up with a proper retort, simply furrowed his brows and closed his eyes, finding himself instantly encompassed by sleep after perhaps the worst day since he was given one more chance at this miserable life of his.

  
  
  


S I D O N

 

_ Tell me pretty lies _

_ Look me in the face _

_ Tell me that you love me _

_ Even if it's fake _

_ 'Cause I don't fucking care, at all _

  
  


“Father, it doesn’t have to be something so... _ grandiose…” _

“Of course it does, Mipha! This is your first birthday with us in over a century and we still haven’t had a proper celebration for your return.”

_ “Father…” _

“A grandiose ball is in order! My precious little girl deserves it!”

Sidon was walking down a hallway alongside his sister and father then. The luminous stone walls shimmered brightly as they walked, illuminating the hallway without the need for lights. 

Shuffling beside King Dorephan was Mulure, a middle-aged purple and yellow Zora who served as the castle’s royal event planner. Her jewelry jangled rhythmically with her quick, short steps as she tried to keep up with the king and his massive strides.

“Excuse me for speaking out of line, Your Majesty, but the decision should be up to Princess Mipha,” Mulure sheepishly said as she smiled and anxiously tapped her notepad with the end of her pen. “It  _ is  _ for her birthday after all.”

“No, it’s fine,” Mipha interjected, giving Mulure a soft smile of her own and a small chuckle. “I do agree with father. It would be nice to hold something big and fun that could boost everyone’s spirits. These times have been hard on everyone.” She leaned forward just enough to glance up at Sidon. “Everything is still falling back into place.”

_ Please, don’t look at me like that. _

The last thing Sidon wanted was a ball. With how he was feeling as of late, he didn’t want to be stuck in a room full of people that only looked at him like an immature little child, a nuisance, or a hunk of meat. The mere idea of having to smile through his unrelenting pain and greet countless people and act like his usual outgoing self made him feel nauseous. 

He couldn’t do this right now. He wasn’t feeling like himself.

Sidon broke away from their eye contact and looked ahead. “That would be so wonderful!” He forced himself to say with an excitable tone, his lips curling into a sharp smile. “It’s been ages since we’ve had a ball in the ballroom. I would love to see it lit up again.”

“It certainly has been a long time,” Dorephan agreed, looking up at the ceiling as if trying to think back on the last time they had actually used the ballroom. “But, Mipha, sweetheart, if you would really rather have a small and personal gathering for your birthday, we don’t have to hold a ball…”

Sidon instinctively held in his breath and flicked his eyes towards his sister, hoping that she would take the offer.

“No, a ball does sound lovely!” Mipha replied. “I just don’t think I deserve something as grand as that just for my birthday.”

“Nonsense!” Dorephan looked down at his daughter and laid a reassuring, giant hand over her tiny shoulder. “Do not be so humble, Mipha. You deserve it.”

Mipha beamed up at him, the corners of her mouth so high up that it crinkled her golden eyes.

Sidon didn’t let out the breath he held in.

Mulure clicked on her pen and started scrawling on her notepad. “A ball it is then. What kind of theme would you like?”

“A theme?” Mipha murmured to herself as she tapped her chin. “Let’s see. What about…”

Suddenly, behind them was the echo of footsteps hustling down the hallway towards them. The others kept walking, too busy talking about the ball to really notice, but Sidon stopped to look behind him to see a head of dirty blonde hair bolting in his direction.

Link.

Link was back.

And he looked upset.

Very, very upset.

What did that conniving, despicable Rito do to him?

“Link?” Sidon called out to the fast-approaching Hylian bounding towards him. “Are you-”

He was interrupted by Link knocking the wind out of him, leaping into his chest and wrapping his arms around him without taking a second to slow down from his sprint.

“Sidon!” Link cried out, his voice muffled from him digging his face into the Zora’s chest.

Sidon held him close and while smoothing his hair, he looked behind him to see the others stop and look behind them. Dorephan’s brow furrowed and Mipha’s face fell at seeing Link crumpling into Sidon and whimpering unintelligibly into him.

“Link?” Mipha stammered and started to walk towards her brother and Link. “Is he alright?”

“Yes, he’s fine. He’s just a bit rattled from his fight with the Lynels,” Sidon assured and then looked down at Link to murmur to him, “Let’s go to our room and you can tell me what’s wrong, alright?”

Link nodded feverishly.

Turning back to the others, Sidon said, “I’ll meet with you later,” and left, leading Link down to the other end of the hallway and towards their room.

  
  


~~~

  
  


Once they got to their shared bedroom, they both sat on the edge of the bed. Link faced away, looking out the window while Sidon looked down at him, studying his face and trying to get some kind of read on him.

Link’s eyes were focused outside and the blue of his eyes was deep, like he was thinking long and hard about something. The distressful look he had on his face when he ran into Sidon’s arms vanished and all there was left was this hard expression that did not budge or fade.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Sidon asked softly, scooting a bit closer to Link on the bed. “I could take you to see a doctor.”

Link shook his head and quietly answered, “No. I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”

Then there was an ominous silence again as Sidon continued to study Link and Link continued to stare out the window.

“Link…” Sidon murmured as he reached out his hand to touch Link’s knee once the silence became too much for him. “You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to, but please at least talk to me. I’m here to help you in any way I can.”

Link did nothing except for bite his lip so hard that Sidon almost expected it to bleed.

Slowly, Sidon brought up his hand to gently turn Link’s face towards his. “Please, my love. I am here to help you.” He tucked some strands of Link’s hair behind his head and brushed his cheek with his thumb as tenderly as he could muster. “I love you.”

Something in Link’s eyes changed. It almost looked like he was going to cry. That he was going to crack. That he was finally going to tell Sidon everything that was going on. Tell him what Revali did to him. Tell him about what is going on between him and-

Sidon’s thoughts were interrupted by Link leaping towards him and grabbing at his face. He pulled his face down towards him and without a beat, sunk his lips into Sidon’s. The suddenness of it knocked Sidon back into the bedpost and Link pushed himself further into him, deepening the kiss. And without warning, he parted his lips enough to shove his tongue into Sidon’s mouth, all while crawling up onto Sidon’s body and wrapping his legs around him.

Sidon’s breathing became quick and deep as he grappled onto Link’s hips and held him as close as he could.

And their kissing deepened even further and it became sloppy, messy, disgusting. 

Sidon didn’t want to.

Sidon didn’t want to do this…

But he most certainly did at the same time.

This was the only time where Link was honest with him. Honest about his feelings.

This was the only time where Link touched Sidon in a way that made him feel like he  _ mattered. _ Where he paid attention to him and only him.

But he shouldn't be doing this.

Link was just using him to escape whatever it was that he was running away from.

He was using him right now. Maybe even distracting him from asking more questions and trying to solve the mystery of Link’s mind and Link’s heart...

Link’s fingers started to trail down from Sidon’s face to his neck and then to his chest.

...But his touch was intoxicating.

His lips were electrifying…

To his stomach.

...Now, there were no secrets.

Only a vicious lust...

And slowly down between his legs, the tips of his fingers tickling Sidon’s soft, silky skin all the while.

...And he would have let himself succumb to it, let himself show Link just how much he loved him…

If he hadn't caught a distinct smell from Link's skin.

The smell of feathers.

The smell of the mountains.

The smell of pine.

The smell of wind.

The smell of irony blood.

The smell of Revali.

The smell of the wickedest man that Sidon had ever crossed paths with.

Sidon quickly snatched Link’s wrist to rip his hand off of him and pulled his lips away from Link’s enrapturing kiss. His face that had melted because of Link’s touch and ardor hardened and stiffened, his golden eyes blazing like fire as he stared intensely, angrily, into Link’s own eyes.

“No. Not this time,” Sidon snapped between his sharp teeth. “Don’t avoid this. Talk to me. Tell me.”

Link’s face that had become sheet white started to redden. His brows furrowed as he hissed, “Tell you what?”

_ “Tell me what happened.”  _ Sidon lightly pushed Link off of him to sit up without the weight and warmth of Link’s body trying to get him to yield to him. “Just... _ talk  _ to me instead of just throwing yourself on me.”

“You said I didn’t have to,” Link said with a snap to his voice as he sat at the edge of the bed and faced Sidon with an uneased frustration on his face.

Sidon closed his eyes and let out a very deep sigh that drew out for a couple of seconds. When he opened his eyes, the hardness and anger in his face fell and his expression became soft. “Please.”

Link looked back out of the window and crossed his arms. His forehead puckered in thought and the way his lips folded down made it seem it was almost painful to think. Like he was struggling, at war with himself over what to say or whether to even say anything at all.

After a long moment, with his eyes still fixated out of the window, he murmured, “Revali got really really hurt. He almost  _ died _ protecting me.” He uncrossed his arms to hold onto his legs and pull them close to his chest. They were so close that it looked like he was hiding behind his knees with only his furrowed eyes showing, still glaring out of the window. “I just wanted to get my mind off of it.”

Sidon’s eyes widened and he leaned forward toward Link with worry glistening his eyes. “What? Link, what happened out there?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Link muttered and unwrapped his arms around himself before finally turning to look back over at Sidon. He tried his best to make the most seductive face he could muster, but the desperation in his eyes was clear. 

He wanted a distraction.

Sidon was only a distraction.

Link began to crawl to Sidon across the bed, crinkling the silk blanket underneath his shuffling knees. He laid a hand on the prince’s ankle and slid it further up his leg as he got closer with that hideously counterfeit coquettish look still plastered on his face. “Please,” he breathed. “I don’t want to...Can we just-”

Totally beside himself, Sidon grabbed Link’s wrist and yanked his arm up so that their faces were only a few inches apart. “Well,  _ I  _ don’t want to be treated as a mere distraction for you!” He yelled. “I can see that you’re distraught and upset and I’m sorry for that, but you can’t just use me for a  _ fuck _ whenever you want to run away from your problems!”

Link’s eyes went large, his mouth hung agape and the red in his cheeks became white.

He was just as shocked at Sidon’s burst as Sidon was. His lips quivered like he was trying to say something, but nothing came out.

Normally, Sidon would have broken down into a string of apologies. Normally, he would feel remorse at the drop of a hat.

But not now.

No more apologies.

No more questions.

No more senseless, repetitive arguing.

Only answers.

Link’s open mouth snapped closed. “Fine,” Link spat and ripped his arm out of Sidon’s grasp. “I’ll talk.”

“Thank you,” Sidon said and crossed his arms. “Please tell me what happened; why Revali had to save you.”

With dark eyes, Link stared down at his lap and fidgeted feverishly with his fingers. After a long period of silence and a quick sigh, he spoke. “It’s because I...I um...I fainted? I fainted and he had to cover for me.” His answer sounded more like a question if anything and he flicked his eyes up to Sidon as if asking if his answer was correct.

Sidon squinted. “You  _ fainted?”  _

“Yes. Well, no. Kind of? Yes? It’s...It’s hard to explain...”

“What do you mean that it’s-” Sidon stopped himself midsentence when something came to mind.

A few weeks ago…

A few weeks ago, Sidon eavesdropped on Mipha, Zelda, and Link when they were talking about Revali. Zelda had brought up something that happened before the Calamity and Link collapsed; Zelda had triggered an old memory and it came back to Link at full force and made him collapse.

And for some reason, Link wanted to keep these new memories a secret. He wanted Sidon to be in the dark. If he didn’t, he would have told him by now and he wouldn’t be trying to lie to his face or tiptoe around the question.

But why? Was it because…

“Did you get another memory?” Sidon blurted. “Is that what happened?”

All the color drained from Link’s face. “How did you…”

“I overheard you talking with Mipha and Zelda. You told them about how you were getting more memories back. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Link sputtered helplessly, completely taken back and unable to recuperate. “B-Because...Because it’s...L-Listen, I-”

“Why?” Sidon repeated and grabbed Link’s hand perhaps a little too hard.

Link squirmed under his grip. And Sidon was scared to find himself not feeling guilty at all.

“Why did you keep it from me? Why won’t you tell me anything about it?!”

Still writhing around under his grasp, Link cried out, “Because Revali was in love with me!”

And Sidon stopped.

He took his hand off of Link and the fury that twisted his insides subsided.

But something else took its place.

Of course.

Of course that was it.

He had known it, but he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to admit to himself that someone had had eyes on Link.

_ His  _ Link.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid that you would get the wrong idea,” Link explained, taking back his hand. “I...I didn’t want you to feel jealous or anything.”

“But does he…” Sidon began to ask, his tone softening but becoming distant.

Link didn’t need him to ask the full question and he shook his head. “No! No, not anymore. He told me himself that he didn’t feel the same way anymore. It’s far in the past. I just didn’t want to make you worried.”

Sidon smiled a smile that showed too much of his teeth. “I wouldn’t have worried. I trust you,” he lied softly.

Link crawled forward again, a worryingly hesitant smile curving his lips. “Good. Because there is no reason to worry,” he said as he interlocked his fingers with Sidon’s much larger ones.

“But, you don’t…” Sidon started to ask, though he didn't need to finish his question again.

“Of course not.” Link crept closer and closer until he was on Sidon’s lap, one hand still intertwined with Sidon’s as the other rose to touch his cheek. “You’re the only one I could ever love, you know.”

Sidon warmly chuckled leaned his head into Link’s touch and closed his eyes. “I love you.”

And without saying anything else, Link pressed his lips into the Zora’s.

Sidon wasn’t stupid.

He knew that what Link said wasn’t sincere.

He knew that the kiss wasn’t sincere.

But even so, he sunk into it.

And fell deep.

Even though he felt himself being used again.

He really was just an idiot.

A stupid, stupid idiot.

  
  
  


L I N K

 

_ I am full and empty, careless, _

_ needless, anchored _

_ in a sandstorm, stillness _

_ robbed me of my sight _

_ and darkness neutered _

_ all but night, which is still _

_ holding its own light, _

_ but that’s just fear _

_ And nothing’s right... _

  
  


It was a sunny morning. The grass was wet with dew, but the sun was already high enough in the sky that it shone down on the three children’s faces. Together they skipped down the long path, taking their daily trip through the countryside to go to school in the nearby town. 

For Link, this was one of the hardest parts of the day.

He was about eight years old at the time when a tiny girl walked beside him, her fingers wrapped tightly around his hand. Her hair, short, was a bright gold and her eyes were the same lovely sapphire as his mother’s.

_ Ari,  _ he thought as this distant memory came back to him.  _ My sister. _

She was only a year younger than him, but she was so small. She had always been so very small.

Ahead of them was their older brother, swinging around a stick he picked off of the ground. He used it to hit the gates and walls they walked past during their trek into town. 

His hair was different than his siblings’; it was the same shade of dusty brown as their father’s. In fact, he was the spitting image of Silas, with his hazel eyes and explosive temper. There was not a shred of their mother’s light in him. Only the foulness of their father.

_ Rolam,  _ Link thought.  _ My brother.  _

He was much older than Link. He was six years older, but he never acted like it. He always was unnecessarily violent, volatile, and selfish like a toddler, instead of thoughtful and attentive like a caring older brother should have been. 

Like his father should have been.

As the three of them passed the moors where the farmers let the sheep graze, Rolam hit the rock walls that separated the path from the fields. He hit the stick against it as hard as he could over and over again and, somehow, it kept together. The repeating, irritating whacking went on for so long that Link couldn’t take it anymore.

“Rolam, please stop.”

Rolam whipped around, showing his younger brother his angry, fiery eyes. “What are you gonna do about it?” He snapped and went on hitting the wall while keeping eye contact with Link.

“Please. It’s really annoying.”

With a sniff, Rolam stopped hitting the wall. “Well, fine then.” But then he eyed a sheep that had wandered over to the fence, expecting to be pet by Ari or Link as they were one to do during their walks. An evil smirk spread on his lips. “Is this better?” 

And before Link could stop him, he hit the poor sheep right between the eyes with the stick.

The sheep immediately yelped, running away as some blood streaked down its face from the wound Rolam left.

The older boy threw his head back and laughed, and Link felt anger bubble up inside of his stomach.

_ “Rolam!”  _ Link yelled and let go of Ari’s hand to rush up to his brother and fight to get the stick out of his hands. “What’s wrong with you?! You can’t do that!”

Rolam’s smile disappeared. “Get off of me!” With his other hand, he shoved Link off so hard that he tumbled down into the dirt. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Struggling to get off the ground, Link hissed, “Momma says hurting animals is wrong.”

“Who cares what Mom says?” Rolam said with a snort. “She’s dying anyways. Like she can do anything about it.”

“Don't say that!” Link screamed while he finally got his footing. “Don't talk about momma like that!”

Swiftly, Rolam grabbed the back of Link's collar to swing him around and throw him into the rock wall. Everything went black for a second when Link smashed his head against it, but when his vision came back all he saw was his brother's angry face inches from his. Rolam kept him against the wall by his forearm, pushing Link's shoulders into the hard rock behind him. 

And it hurt.

“I told you not to tell me what to do, you little shit,” Rolam barked.

Ari rushed forward to grab Rolam's arm and try to pull him away, but she was too small to do anything. “RoRo! Stop! You're hurting him!”

The rocks dug into Link's back and Rolam made it hard to breathe. Link felt like he was being crushed. He struggled, trying to weasel out of his brother's grip, but he couldn't do it.

“Come on, Link. Fight back,” Rolam murmured in a hideous tone. “I know you can fight. So, fight!”

“But Momma says that-” Link began to wheeze, but he was interrupted by Rolam pressing harder into his chest.

_ “Fuck  _ what Momma says! You just think you're so much better than me, don't you?” Rolam leaned even closer so that his and Link's noses were practically touching. “You think that because you're the favorite, you can boss me around? That you have the higher horse?”

Ari continued to try and tear her oldest brother away, screaming and yelping uselessly.

“Then show me you're better,” Rolam went on. “You can take down adults, so why can't you take  _ me  _ down?  _ Show me!” _

But he couldn't.

Link was nothing without his sword.

He was nothing if he wasn't on the battlefield or on the training grounds. 

He was nothing against his brother, someone who had power over him in a way that Link didn't fully understand.

In a way that made him feel helpless.

In a way that made him feel weak.

And small.

Rolam shook off Ari to raise a fist, ready to strike Link. “That’s what I thought, you pathetic-”

Acting on the instincts of a cornered animal, Link opened his mouth and bit down on the arm Rolam was holding him down with so hard that he drew blood. Rolam cried out and swung his arm back, sending Link spiraling back into the dirt of the path. 

The hazel of Rolam's eyes became red like fire. His ivory skin became a bright pink. His dark brows furrowed into his eyes as he gritted his teeth like a predator.

“You little creep!”

He went for the stick he dropped earlier and turned around with it to attack Link.

But then Ari went to stand between her two brothers and held her arms out confidently, protecting Link from their brother's wrath despite her size.

And Rolam stopped mid-swing. 

His red eyes softened, seeing his little sister glaring up at him. 

They stared at each other for a long, intense moment before Rolam snorted and turned around on his heels to begin walking down the path again.

“Whatever,” he scoffed, hitting the stick on the wall again. “Let's just get to school already.”

Ari watched and waited until he was gone before twisting around to help a coughing Link up off the ground. “He can't do that,” she said between grunts. “We have to tell Momma. She'll-”

“No,” Link stopped her, rubbing his throat. “He's right. There's nothing she can do anymore.”

Curling her lips downward, she looked down at the ground. There was a distant and sad look to her eye that made Link's heart hurt.

Link took her hand and they began to walk again, down the path towards town, far behind their brother who kept hitting the walls and fences with that stupid stick.

“She'll be gone soon.”

_ And we'll be all alone. _

_ We'll be all alone with  _ them.

 

~~~

 

Link woke up with a start.

For some reason, the night air felt so much colder than usual. So much so that it made him shiver violently.

His teeth were chattering. His spine was rattling. His cheeks were tear-stained.

He wanted this all to stop. He wanted it to go back to the way it was before.

Back when everything felt fine. Back when he couldn’t remember anything. Back when his past was a complete mystery.

Back when he was okay with not knowing because he already had a great life with someone that meant so much to him. 

When there was only one person in his life. 

When things were simple...

Link looked over beside him, seeing Sidon curled up on the other side of the bed and breathing softly in his sleep. In his sleep, Sidon curled his fingers shuffled his knees.

...Back when he thought he was happy.

Without warning, tears started to flood behind Link’s eyes. Sobs rattled in his throat, trying to crawl their way out. To combat the feelings he wasn’t ready for, he bit his lips and breathed deeply.

But it didn’t work.

The tears poured.

The mucus oozed.

The whimpers broke out.

And, suddenly, Link longed for the people from the distant past that he had only just remembered. For the people that had been gone for a long time.

He gripped onto the blankets desperately as he hiccuped, trying to hold as much noise as he could to avoid waking up Sidon beside him. And somehow he was successful; Sidon never even stirred even though he was crying and doubling over like a baby.

He wanted his mother. He wanted his sister. Even though he could barely even remember them, he wanted them. He wanted to see them again. He wanted them to wrap their loving arms around him and surround him with their warmth.

Sidon, the man laying in bed next to him, the person that Link swore his life to, the Zora that he shared his body with, suddenly felt like a stranger. Like someone he had only pretended to know all this time.

He wanted his mother beside him instead.

He wanted his sister beside him.

He...He wanted  _ Revali  _ beside him.

But why not Sidon? He loved him, didn’t he? He knew that he did. He did, he did, he did.

He had to.

He still felt safe in his arms. He still loved the sight of his face, of his wonderful golden eyes. He still loved his touch and the way that he laughed. His legs still felt like jelly whenever he spoke and his stomach still filled with butterflies whenever he looked at him. 

His kisses brought him life.

The planets seemed to align and everything was perfect whenever they made love.

Right?

Right?

That was still true, wasn’t it?

Then why did he feel so alone next to him?

He hadn’t felt like this before.

Never.

Why did he feel so alone?

So alone.

So alone.

  
  
  


Thank the gods Sidon never woke up.

  
  
  


R E V A L I

 

_ our _

_ hearts  _

_ will  _

_ burn  _

_ down _

_ like _

_ forests _

_ but come back _

_ like the gardens of eden _

  
  


Revali woke up to sunlight burning his retinas through his eyelids. 

He grumbled and squirmed in the cot, but ultimately found it impossible to go back to sleep and opened his eyes.

To see Meelo right above him, staring down at him with big, silver eyes.

_ “Gah!”  _ Revali squawked and jolted up, but hissed in pain when he moved, reminding his body that it was still broken.

“Yah! Sorry, sorry! A-Are you okay?” Meelo squeaked and stumbled back on his feet. His crest flattened on his head while he said, “I’m sorry for startling you! I was just so worried that-”

He was interrupted by the low, hoarse voice of the pissiest doctor Revali had ever met. “Oh, finally, you’re awake.” Unathi rolled over on her stool, her face expressionless, and immediately lifted up Revali’s wing to prod at his burn. She slowly started to unwrap the gauze to check the wound. “About time.”

“What time is it?” Revali groaned and rubbed at his eyes with his other hand.

Meelo answered, “It's almost one. You've been asleep for a really long time…”

“Teba came by this morning like he said he would,” Unathi began. “He wanted to stay but apparently he had important things to do, so he told little cuckoo here and he came and hasn't left your side since. Unfortunately.”

Revali glared at Unathi for her usage of the word 'cuckoo’ and looked at Meelo, who shared a knowing glance with him and then gave a shake of the head. Like he was assuring Revali that it was fine; that he was used to it. 

But Revali would've snapped at Unathi anyway if he wasn't so tired and felt like total shit.

Instead, he relaxed his face and said, “Thank you, Meelo. You didn't have to.”

Meelo's crest bobbed up as he stuttered, “W-Well, I was worried! What if you needed me? What if-”

“It's not even that bad. It's not like he's dying,” Unathi interrupted again. “He only slept that long because he was really tired. Not because he was ‘gravely injured.’ He's only here as an extra precaution.”

The younger Rito's eyes flicked towards his mentor and looked him up and down. “But all that blood…?” 

“It's not mine. Mostly,” Revali said and gave a sort of shameful chuckle. “My bow broke after I hurt my wing so I had to get up close and personal with the Lynels.” He rubbed the side of his head to feel the dried blood caked on his feathers. “I had nothing else but two broken halves of a bow and my wits to fight them with. And somehow I managed, though I obviously didn’t come out of it unscathed.”

Meelo’s face went bright with amazement and his beak hung open in awe. He let out a long, quiet gasp before he excitedly chirped, “Are you- Really?! That’s amazing!”

Revali’s eyes creased and he smirked at Meelo. “Well, I don’t mean to brag, but yes. It was more or less amazing.”

“Alright, Mr. Champion,” Unathi began, interrupting Meelo and Revali and making them turn their attention to her. “Enough of your bragging and let’s check out your burn.” She finished opening the bandage and brushed off the herbs underneath to look at the burn from all angles. “Okay, good. The swelling went down and the boils mostly went away…” She muttered to herself and started to take fresh herbs out of a jar to sprinkle onto the burn. “How’s the pain?”

“I still can’t really feel the burn, but my wing aches. It hurts to breathe, too. Other than that, everything is just pretty sore.”

“And your head?”

“Still a bit dizzy, but better than last night.”

“That's good to hear,” Unathi said and out of nowhere tossed a pill bottle to him. 

Revali instinctively caught it with his bad arm and lightly winced, feeling a dull pain shoot from his burn.

“I see that maybe the pain is starting to come back, then. That's even better. It means you're healing even faster than I thought.” Something that was almost a smile spread out on Unathi's face. “Anyway, with those meds and your disconcerting luck, that burn should completely heal up in two to three weeks. The pills are made with Hyrule Herb and a plethora of other things. It speeds up the healing process incredibly. Although, it'll be a bit longer than that for your feathers to grow back.” She rolled over to her desk to grab a bag that was leaned against it and shoved miscellaneous things inside. “ _ If  _ they grow back.”

_ “If?!”  _ Revali screeched.

She turned around in her seat to face him and with her beak on a flat line, she said, “I was joking.”

Revali stared at her.

It most certainly didn't look like she was joking.

“Well,” Unathi started and stood up to sling her bag over her shoulder. “I have a patient to check up on. You can stay here until you're ready to leave…” She peered down at Meelo. “...As long as you don't touch anything.” Then she peered at Revali. “And please take a bath. I can't even look at you.”

And she walked out, without saying goodbye or giving Revali a chance to thank her or give her a snappy retort.

Revali let out a sigh that was more like a groan before taking out his braids and rubbing the roots with his fingers. “She really is something, isn’t she?” He asked Meelo, his tone full of disdain.

Meelo stared a bit too intently at Revali as he flipped his hair and let it fall on his shoulders.

Revali expected him to murmur a compliment about his hair, but instead, Meelo blinked away the look in his eye and stammered, “W-Who? Unathi?”

“Yes.” Revali started to stretch his arms and cringed a little when he felt a dull pain when he stretched his injured arm. “You know, you shouldn’t let people talk to you that way.”

Meelo noticeably slumped. “You mean the ‘cuckoo’ thing? It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“Well, it should. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. Especially you.”

Meelo jerked and his feathers ruffled. Then he looked off to the side and started to rub his wing. “It...It isn’t just because I’m a cuckoo that people treat me that way. Everyone treats Meezuli fine now that she’s grown up and has a job that she’s great at. But I’m not as good as her.” He started to fidget with one of his braids as he went on. “I’ve always been a walking disaster and, well…” He stopped for second before uttering the rest of the sentence with a bit of a pained look on his face. “... a baby.”

Revali snorted while he swung his legs off the cot so he sat at the edge of it. “A baby?”

Meelo smiled a little to himself and shrugged.

“Well, while that might be true to an extent...” Revali began and reached out to pat Meelo’s shoulder. “You aren’t a walking disaster. You just need to have more confidence in yourself, and I think you owe yourself that at least.”

Meelo said nothing and only blinked at him with an expression that looked like something in between fluster and confusion.

“You’re not as bad as you think. As all these idiots in this village seem to think.”

“B-But, I-”

“I think I should know after spending all this time with you-” Revali was cut off by his own stomach. It rumbled louder than it ever had before, he thought. “Goddess, I didn’t even notice how starving I was,” he muttered to himself, suddenly feeling just how empty his stomach was.

Rather than laugh at the loud grumble, Meelo jumped and said, "O-Oh! I'm so scatterbrained...I can't believe I forgot." He picked up a wooden box off of the ground beside him and held it out to Revali. "I, ah, I brought you some food for when you woke up."

“Oh, thank you, Meelo.” Revali took the box and then raised his eyebrows at him. “I’ll save my pep talk for when I’m not dying of starvation. So, don’t think that you’re getting out of this.”

Meelo let out a tiny huff in response.

Revali started to open the box but stopped. “This isn't all mushrooms, is it?” He said with a condescending smirk.

Meelo scrunched his face in into a goofily offended expression that, Revali had to admit, was kind of cute. “No! It isn't!”

Laughing, Revali opened the box.

Inside were two rice balls, some smoked salmon, and a side of salad. It looked amazing, especially to a starving Revali, so he immediately went for a rice ball and started to gnaw on it.

Revali in a perfect state of mind would have refrained from talking with his mouth full, but he was not only starving but also very much out of it from fatigue, dizziness, and pain. “This is great. Did you make all of this?”

Meelo’s face folded with guilt and he hunched. “Ah, well, no. I...I actually bought it.”

Revali laughed, covering his mouth to make sure he wouldn’t spew rice everywhere.

“And it isn’t because I can’t cook!” Meelo trilled. “Because I  _ can!” _

Still chuckling, Revali said, “Alright, alright. Either way, thank you. I really do appreciate it.”

Meelo's feathers ruffled a little and he smiled wide. Suddenly though, he looked off to the side and looked nervous. “Th-There's something that I wanted to ask you. I just...haven't because there was never a good time and...and so much as been going on…”

With a mouth full of food, Revali said, “Go on…”

"I...I wanted to ask if it would be okay if I start having lunch with you?! Like, s-spend my lunch breaks with you?” Meelo blurted so fast and slurred that Revali almost couldn’t understand what he said at all. He went back to pulling on his braids nervously. “Ah, o-only if you're not doing anything of course! Be...Because I never ever really do anything during my breaks...unless M-Meezuli is here, which she barely ever is lately.” He closed his eyes so tight it crinkled his whole face. “S-So, I figured I could spend it with you- unless you don't want to! It was just...just a stupid, random thought and I just, ah-"

Then there was a knock outside and he jerked, lightly yipped, and stopped.

“Hey, Revali, sir. How are you doing?”

Meelo froze at hearing Veremi's voice and his crest frizzed up.

Revali hurried to swallow the food in his mouth before he greeted the craftsman. “Oh, hello, Veremi.” He set the box of food aside and continued. “I'm pretty sore and I won't be able to use my wing for a while, but otherwise I'm fine, more or less.”

Veremi stepped further into the hut and stood next to Meelo at his chair, but paid him no mind.

Meelo, however, definitely paid Veremi some mind. He looked painfully uncomfortable from the way he held his hands tightly and stared intensely at the ground.

They smiled and put their hands on their hips. “Good to hear that you turned out okay. When I was told you had to spend the night here, I was afraid you were in terrible shape. But, uh…” They squinted and cocked their head slightly. “That's a lot of blood, sir.”

“Most of it isn't mine. I still haven't had a proper bath yet.”

_ “Also  _ good to hear. Uh, not the bath part but most of the blood not being yours part.” They rocked back and forth on their heels and cleared their throat. “Too bad that you hurt your wing though, because…”

Revali's eyes went wide. “You mean…”

“The Great Eagle Bow is almost done!” Veremi said with a massive smile on their face. “Just a couple of touch-ups and adjustments and it'll be good to go!”

Revali's eyes opened even further and he could almost feel them sparkle. The corners of his beak curled up so far that he was forced to squint.

So close.

“I'm going to use it as soon as it's done whether Unathi likes it or not.”

That made Veremi laugh. "You know, I actually would've smuggled it in for you to check out, sir, but she doesn't allow weapons in here and she's like a hawk about this shit.” Their eyes shifted to glance at Meelo. “Although with our current company it may be better that way. Wouldn't want it to be broken so quickly."

Meelo, of course, said nothing, but he did peek up to meet Veremi’s eyes and his frizzed up crest flattened completely on his head. 

Speaking for him, Revali waved his hand and said, “Give him more credit. He wouldn’t just break the Great Eagle Bow.”

“Oh, I am giving him plenty of credit,” Veremi replied. “One time Meelo was only in my hut for no more than half a minute before he somehow managed to destroy an entire rack of weapons I was working on. So, I really wouldn’t want to risk him with my current magnum opus.”

“I said I was sorry…” Meelo murmured from the corner of his beak.

Veremi regarded him only by rolling their eyes and shaking their head. “Either way, I should get going. I have a lot to do, but I just wanted to see how you were doing and let you know the bow was almost done.”

“Thank you, Veremi.”

Veremi winked in reply and then twisted around on their heels to leave.

Meelo stared at the door for a lingering second after Veremi walked out, then slowly turned his head back around to face Revali. He fiddled with one of his braids and opened his beak to say, “I’m really glad that the bow is almost finished…”

It was obvious from how quiet and unsure his voice was that he wanted to avoid what they were talking about before Veremi came in. That he was embarrassed he asked that question. That maybe he had hoped that Revali had forgotten and was fumbling to change the subject.

But Revali didn’t forget.

“I-It’ll be really...u-um…”

“Yes,” Revali uttered, cutting Meelo off from his painful stammering.

Meelo blinked at him wildly. “Wh-What?”

The older avian smiled warmly. “Yes, we can start having lunch together if you’d like.” He pulled his legs up from the side of the cot to sit crisscrossed. “You know I never am really doing anything anyway. It could be nice.”

“R-Really?” The yellow feathers on Meelo’s face ruffled.

Revali jabbed a finger in his direction. “As long as I’m in charge of the food.”

Meelo let out a laugh that was light and airy. Once it faltered, he softly muttered, "Sorry..."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I just...I don't want to bother you, or impose or..."

"You're not. Like you’ve said, we’re friends now. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend more time with a friend.”

Meelo’s silver eyes sparkled like two stars at Revali before they fell to the ground and wrinkled due to the massive smile that was spreading up Meelo’s beak. He brought a hand up to try and hide his huge smile, but it was no use. It was too big to hide.

Revali, stifling a chuckle, asked, “What are you smiling about?”

"What wouldn't I be smiling about?” Meelo chirped, still trying to hold the smile he was embarrassed about. “Champion Revali, the person I've looked up to since I was a hatchling, is my friend."

“A great honor, I’m sure,” Revali said with a smirk and jokingly flipped his hair.

Meelo snorted and giggled; his giggle as high and charming as it always was.

And something peculiar tightened in Revali’s chest.

Something very, very peculiar.

“When you’re done eating, I can help you down to Strock Lake so you can wash yourself off,” Meelo said while fidgeting with his braid again, but not from nervousness anymore.

Revali started on the salad in the boxed lunch. “You can't keep dropping your duties just for me. I'm sure you have more important things to do.”

“I can’t think of anything more important.”

Now it was Revali’s turn to try and resist the big smile that tugged at the corners of his beak. "Alright. I'll try to be quick so I won't have to keep you for even longer. Thank you."

“I-It’s okay. I really don’t mind.” Meelo started swinging his legs back and forth like a kid while still twisting around a braid in his fingers. “I won’t get in trouble if I’m helping you.”

Revali gave in to the smile and let his whole face light up.

Things with Link were shit.

But at least things here, at his new home, were good.

Maybe he would be okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhrmmffghjgh i rlly did wanna continue the ritual of drawing stuff for the updates, but it's been long enough since i updated so !!! i DID actually try to draw something for it ...it didn't turn out well. if i do end up successfully drawing something i'll just link it here...  
> it is 5 am and i just want this posted so i can SLEEP PEACEFULLY ALREADY
> 
> also just so u know, i'm about to start working on another series along with this for a bit, so progress might be slower. but, i'm about to have a looooot more free time on my hands so perhaps not!


End file.
